Ominous Rumours
by LostHighwayEscapee
Summary: The warriors of the organisation may find themselves having to battle foes quite different from the Yoma. A Claymore and Monster Hunter crossover. Slight indirect spoilers for Claymore early on so I would recommend watching the Anime or Reading the Manga just in case. Currently rated T, may be subject to change depending on feedback.
1. Chapter 1

Ominous rumours – A Claymore and Monster hunter crossover

* * *

In terms of the timeframe this story begins just before the events of the Claymore anime, and about the same time as the events in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. There will be some slight indirect spoilers for Claymore, so I'd recommend watching up until at least the first awakened being battle with Mira just in case. Likewise, there will be a few people referenced that won't make much sense unless you're familiar with the characters of Claymore. Monsters will mainly be from 3U and 4U, since I don't have much experience of the monster hunter games from before these, and I'd like to get the feel of the monsters right. The monster hunter games aren't exactly story heavy, so I doubt I'll be spoiling much; but if you haven't yet played monster hunter, you should; it's damn good fun.

* * *

Chapter 1

The scene opens in the northern town of Pieta, sometime before Claire's first encounter with Raki.

Lena, number 7 of the organisation, had found herself having to deal with an entirely unexpected situation. She had recently been transferred in anticipation of an attack on the town by an awakened being; the plan being that she would lead a small ground of warriors to ambush the creature before it could strike.

Her team consisted of herself and three others; Kammy, Rise and Mai.

All of the single digit warriors of the organisation had some kind of extremely distinctive skill at which they excelled above all others, and in the case of Lena it was her ability to concentrate yoki into very specific parts of her body. Her signature attack is to harden her fingers and then cause them to extend; piercing her target. Partly because of the similarity of this attack to the methods used by strong Yoma and awakened beings Lena is sometimes nicknamed the demon hand. Lena possesses another unusual trait amongst the warriors of the organisation; she has the characteristic underlying abilities of both offensive and defensive type warriors, allowing her to regenerate.

Lena's physical appearance differs a little from most of the other warriors, being of a somewhat shorter stature than most, but with a substantial bust, and with completely white hair. Her hair is quite long, and while she wears it loose it somehow never gets in the way. She also possesses pointed ears.

Kammy was the next highest ranked after herself, and the second youngest on the team. While she seemed initially unremarkable as a warrior, her secret lay in her immense stamina reserves; she could fight continuously at levels that would rapidly exhaust other warriors. She carries the 12th rank in the organisation. In terms of appearance Kammy has the silver eyes and platinum blond hair possessed by nearly every other warrior of the organisation, although hers is extremely long; she claims to have never cut it since her 'recruitment' as a child. She typically wears her hair bundled into a pair of points, slightly resembling horns or wolf ears. She also has quite a noticeable musculature, enhanced somewhat by her tendency to wear a sleeveless variant of the normal uniform. Thanks in part to these, and her relentlessness in pursuits she's sometimes nicknamed the wolf by the other warriors.

Rise was something of an enigma to just about every other warrior in the organisation. When asked of her rank she'd simply say somewhere in the thirties, and that it had changed so many times throughout the course of her life she'd given up keeping track of it. Additionally her claymore is the only one known of to have actual damage, sporting a hole through the centre of blade. This hole means her symbol is no longer visible, and to add to this her uniform also bears no symbol. She has refused to have her blade repaired, claiming the damage actually enhances its function; and that it serves a very important secondary purpose; to provide hope. When others ask exactly how it does this she explains that she once fought something powerful enough to damage a claymore and lived, despite being such a low ranked warrior. What is known about Rise is that she's easily the longest surviving warrior never to have awakened, and that while her basic strength, speed and swordsmanship are of the sort of level one would expect a single digit to possess, her ability to release her yoki is possibly the poorest of any warrior ever to serve in the organisation. When once confronted by Ophelia she simply told her that thanks to her pitiful energy reserves she probably couldn't awaken even if she put every ounce of her will into trying.

Rise's appearance is quite striking, as she is amongst the tallest of the warriors; taller even than Gallatea, and her eyes are permanently golden. She keeps her hair in a long, spiked style.

Mai was the youngest and most inexperienced serving warrior in the organisation at this time. Ranked 46, mainly due to her abilities having never been formally tested on anything above the lowest level yoma, she was effectively being tutored by Rise to establish her true skill levels. Compared to the other warriors her sword skill was poor, and her ability to perceive her opponent's energy was still flaky beyond simply identifying yoma. Her basic speed and strength were unremarkable; but her yoki reserves were monstrous; even tapping into just enough to turn her eyes golden was enough to give her a marked increase in physical ability.

Physically Mai is very petite; quite possibly the smallest of the current warriors, and in all likelihood she has yet to finish growing. As a consequence her claymore looks ridiculously over sized for her. She wears her hair in twin tails, which come about halfway down her body, and like Lena she has noticeably pointed ears. She's sometimes referred to as the pixie by some of the other warriors, although she doesn't seem to mind this.

The ambush in question was perfectly executed, with the team managing to infiltrate the awakened beings hideout undetected. Unfortunately they discovered someone; or more likely something had beaten them to it, as the awakened being was quite dead, with a substantial portion of its body missing. Unsure of how to proceed Lena decided the best course of action would be to retrieve the corpse and await contact by an official from the organisation. In the meantime her and her team were left to ponder just what happened.

"Bit of anti-climax to all that plotting and sneaking; but I guess one dead awakened being's a good result."

"Something's badly off about this Lena; the injury pattern doesn't make sense."

"How so Kammy? Something chewed him up; no great mystery there."

"And what pray tell would consider a Yoma, let alone an awakened being, as a menu option?"

"Another bigger, meaner, and hungrier Yoma?"

"Wrong answer Mai, but I'll forgive you since you're the rookie here. Cannibalism amongst Yoma is almost unheard off; Yoma flesh apparently tastes utterly disgusting to them. The only reason it would happen would be if the diner in question was on the verge of dying of starvation; and in that sort of state victory against any strong yoma, let alone an awakened being, would be impossible."

"Besides, the hideout's pretty close to Pieta; the mystery diner would've had ample opportunities to snack on people, cattle or goods moving into or out of the city; and the only disappearances we've heard of have involved people straying far out into the wilderness."

"...Interesting; the wound patterns are kind of odd, but Mai is actually onto something. I think something did decide to make a meal out of this guy, but the damage pattern doesn't really match up with a yoma attack. Yoma always feed by tearing their victims open and feeding on the internal organs, but they tend to leave the body mostly intact. By contrast this guy's had his limbs and part of his torso scoffed, but his internal organs haven't been singled out."

"Bleagh…do you really have to go into that much detail Rise? Brings back some pretty bad memories you know."

"Bear with it Mai; we're all in the same boat in that regard."

"If you're done with your little episode of squeamishness I'll continue. The actual fatal injury appears to be a pair of puncture wounds to the head and neck; would've killed anything short of the most extreme regenerator pretty much instantly. The remains of the torso do contain a couple of other odd injuries though. This one would match up with a barbed flail; if said flail was about the size of a human torso; and these look a bit like classical mountain lion claw marks, only much bigger."

"How come they're still there? Don't yoma normally regenerate anything short of a severed limb or a severe body puncture pretty quickly?"

"My best guess is it was a very brief fight. Either that or lunch here was particularly crap at regenerating. Anyway, the vast majority of the damage was posthumous and caused by a pretty powerful set jaws, with exceedingly sharp teeth. The bones have been bitten through with very little splintering, and again that's not something you see from Yoma. Their jaws are designed simply for eating for the most part, whilst the owner of whatever did this has jaws that have been honed into weapons."

"How come you know so much about this stuff Rise?"

"My home village used to be somewhere around here. There are some pretty dangerous creatures in the snowy wilds, so learning as much as we could about them at an early age was pretty much vital to survival."

"What happened to it…sorry, I think we already know…"

"The yoma were a problem, but one the town ultimately overcame with a little help from the organisation. The town was abandoned after people realised the snow layers high up on the nearby mountains had destabilised. Sometime after that the town got buried under an avalanche."

"Why'd you have to be a spoilsport and explain it all so clearly? I was hoping you'd leave me some wriggle room to imply you were secretly banging Dae."

"Urrrgh, Kammy! Rise, please, go back to the autopsy details; that was one thing I do not want to picture."

"To be perfectly honest with you I think he pleasures himself with the laboratory specimens; I've seen how excited he gets whenever he gets something new to work with, so I think I'm too alive to be within his strike zone anyway."

Absolute silence holds sway for a few seconds.

"What?"

Lena, Kammy and Mai all respond simultaneously.

"Too plausible…"

"Have we got any jobs coming up Lena?"

"No Kammy; given how things turned out the organisation will want to examine the remains in detail so we'll have to wait for further contact. Rubel's pretty swift, but he'll still take at least a day to get here."

"Good; I say we drink the nearest pub dry. I've got images of Dae going at a yoma corpse like a dog missing its master's leg in my head, and I want rid of them. Badly."

"Not a bad idea Kammy. It's been some time since I last had an opportunity to get hammered; as your current captain I approve of this course of action. How about you two?"

"Mmm…I've never had alcohol before to tell the truth…and…aren't I a bit young?"

"This is Pieta Mai; if you can see over the counter, order and pay, they'll serve you. If there's one thing people living freezing climates appreciate its good booze, and they're not inclined to keep others from it. What about you Rise?"

"I don't drink myself, but a trip to the pub sounds like a good idea all the same. I might be able to pick up some clues regarding our mystery creature from the locals."

"Don't tell me you're a straight edge practitioner?"

"Good heavens no! Alcohol just isn't my thing; I prefer substances with a more; how best to say this; psychedelic effect. There's a variety of cave fungus in this area that's potent enough to even effect Yoma if you're interested."

"I'm not sure what's more worrying now; this job or your past Rise."

Rise gives Kammy an evil grin.

"Let's just say Mother Nature's tools can be a scarier weapon than any blade in the right hands."

"We might as well head out then. Lina, anything we need to do with the body storage wise?"

"We can leave it here. This building's organisation property, plus is got to be minus ten at the very most in here so it'll be just fine."

The four warriors make their way out in search of a nearby drinking establishment.

In the meantime, somewhere in the wilds north of Pieta a large Yoma sprints across the snow at high speed, with a look of abject terror in his eyes.

"That thing can't have been real…it didn't even have an aura, but it took out Sully in seconds! It…started eating him as well; and nothing feeds on Yoma…oh shit…Rigardo's probably gonna kill me for this…but they need to know…yeah, Isley's pretty smart, maybe he'll know something…"

The yoma continues to sprint across the snow and after another minute the unyielding white finally gives way to forest. The yoma slows down a little once he makes it to the tree line, and a voice calls out to him.

"Bloody hell, that was quick! I take it Sully's figured out a corker of an ambush plan then."

"We're not safe here, we need to get underground."

"Whoa, what're you yapping on about?"

"Sully's dead; I've no idea what killed him either, but it started eating him…"

"This had better be a joke."

"I wish it was…"

"So what's gonna make being underground safer?"

"It struck from the air; completely got the drop on us. It can't do that if we're underground."

"The caves ain't far, but you know a certain silver eyed lion king is gonna want an explanation, and he ain't exactly nice to anyone who comes up short."

"I think I've got a better chance with him than that thing. Hell, at least he won't eat me."

"You really ain't joking are ya, we'll talk on the way…"

The two yoma make their way through the forest at a brisk pace.

"…come to think of it we've had a few grunts go missing over the last few weeks. Nobody who'd be missed mind; but Sully pulled some serious weight. If something could take him, that's gonna get the attention of the higher ups."

They approach a cave entrance.

"Safe! Right then, what did it look like?"

"If anything, a little bit like huge snow cat. Pristine white fur, but a really long tail with spikes at the end. It had spikes all over its forearms as well, and what looked like wings attached to them. Weird thing was it had scales as well as fur, all over its head and down its back; and as for the head there's one thing I'll never forget when I saw it's mouth…"

"…enormous amber tusks?"

"Yeah, how'd you guess? Wait a minute, where're you running off to? I hadn't fin-"

The remaining yoma runs deep into cave.

"Poor bastard; at least it was quick; he didn't even get to scream. Lucky for me he was big bugger as well; that things gonna be full once it's done with him so I should be in the clear. Now I gotta worry about how Rigardo's gonna take this…actually knowing him it'll brighten his mood; he always seems to perk up when he thinks he's gonna get the chance to lock horns with something that can put up a good fight."

Back in Pieta…

"Hey, I know it isn't the nearest, but there's a drinking den in this part of town called The Flag that'll be the best place for us to go. The landlord's pretty cool about warriors like us so we won't get too many gawkers in there."

"That'll be nice; I know we're pretty far from normal, but those looks we get; sometimes it gets to me."

"You'll learn to phase them out soon Mai; and Rise, is there any other reason why we should be going to this particular establishment?"

"You can buy a lot more than just food and drink there Lena. The Flag's a meeting place for fighters, merchants, mercenaries, and characters nearly a colourful as us. If anything strange has been going on, someone there probably knows something about it."

"Sounds like a nice change of scenery, but don't those sort of establishments normally get shut down?"

"Only the ones that cause trouble Kammy; and Flag keeps its trouble carefully contained…and available for a pretty reasonable price for that matter. While the door won't open to just anyone, I happen to know the passcode to gain entry."

The four of them make their way through the snowy streets of Pieta. It doesn't take them long to reach an inconspicuous alleyway.

"Down here…"

The alleyway leads to a small covered courtyard; and at the other side is an extremely robust looking metal door. There's no identifying placards or signs by it, just a tattered black flag.

"This is it."

Rise knocks on the door. There's no response.

"Oi! Gillespie! Get off your fat arse and answer the fucking door! And get your hand out of your trousers while you're at it! You're paid to be security, not spend all day playing pocket snooker!"

A letterbox sized panel slides open.

"Well I'll be buggered; you got the passcode spot on. How can I help you four lovely ladies today?"

Rise gazes through the opening.

"Ah, that kind of business. Been a while Rise, nice to see you again."

There's the sound of several bolts sliding back, followed by the sound of locks turning.

"Sorry to make you wait. You know how serious the boss is about security with those bloody yoma trying to snack on the unwary; and speaking of which you might like some of the new trophies we've got on display."

There's one last click and door slides open. The four of them raise an eyebrow at just how thick it is.

"There we go; right, I know you know the rules Rise, but I'll need to make them clear to your companions. Firstly; don't start any trouble in the flag; but if trouble comes to you you're perfectly entitled to finish it. Secondly; any business dealings are to be made with the consent of all parties involved. If anyone calls out that they're being forced into something under duress, well break it up and make sure the threatened party receives protection. Lastly; what happens in the flag, stays in the flag. Rise has got special dispensation to bring newcomers to the flag, but it'd be helpful to everyone here if you kept as quiet as possible about this place if you know what I mean."

The four of them make their way through the entrance, which leads to a poorly lit set of stone stairs heading down. As they descend they feel the temperature steadily increase, and their senses are bombarded by a fantastic mix of barely identifiable aromas; they can make out the sounds of noisy conversation, laughter, music, and the occasional sound of breaking glass; which steadily increase in volume as they progress.

"How far down does this go Rise? Just what exactly is this place?"

"One of the last bastions of real human spirit Kammy; a gathering place for the unbroken of this land. The people here aren't going to cower before any king, god or monster; they've decided that their fate is their own to make."

* * *

On a side note although most of my stories haven't been updated for a long time, I haven't abandoned them. Fingers crossed I'll have another chapter for one of my Xenoblade stories ready soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

The four of them come to the end of the stairs, and are momentarily dazzled by the change in lighting. A moment later they can see they're in a huge underground hall; and a well populated one at that. In amongst the bustle they can see an elevated stage, on which a band appears to playing an energetic tune on a number of very unusual looking instruments; and a space in front of them where an number of probably inebriated individuals are doing something…resembling dancing. In another part there's a very large bar, and judging from the sizeable plates of exotic looking food passing over the counter a substantial kitchen somewhere behind it. Close to the bar are many tables, seating a very colourful collection of characters; many of whom are noticeably armed and armoured; and in some cases with particularly fearsome looking weapons of huge size. Along one side of hall are a number of doors, marked as being available for private business transactions. They make their way slowly towards the bar.

"Now this place really is something else. How'd you find out about it Rise?"

"Did a little bit of Yoma extermination pro bono a while back; and ended up rescuing one of the guys who works here."

"Didn't you get in trouble for that?"

"I talked my way out of it Lena; it was in the arse end of nowhere so it wasn't like there was any potential for the organisation to make any money to start with."

"Speaking of yoma; look at that!"

Mai points to the wall above the bar, where there are numerous beast head trophies; and in amongst them what appears to be a yoma head. Rise lets out a whistle.

"Damn, looks like the wrecking crew are getting seriously good at their game."

The bartender enters the conversation. He's a fairly large and exceptionally grizzled looking man, with long grey hair and seems to have more scar tissue on his body than actual skin.

"You girls can't be everywhere at once, and those blasted yoma keep popping up all the time. That one wasn't so bright mind you; considering who it tried to ambush. Speaking of which, if you don't mind me asking Rise…"

"Nothing to worry about Manny; there aren't any here."

"Good, sounds like Gillespie's doing his job properly. So what brings you to the flag?"

"Mostly R and R, but I'll need to have a chat with the boss. Something odd turned up on our last job; the sort of thing which might be her concern."

"She's a little busy right now, but I'm sure she'll be pretty keen to hear what you have to say. If it's along the lines of what I think it is; we've been getting more and more occurrences. I've got a feeling we're gonna be dealing with a lot more than rumours soon. You fancy something to drink while you wait?"

"Sure, I'll have the special milk cocktail; how about you Lena?"

"Hmm…I'll have a large Becherovka to start with. What are you up for Kammy?"

"Ooooh, got to be Slivovitz in this weather. How about you Mai?"

"Umm, is there anything that tastes a bit like liquorice?"

"Make that an Ouzo for Mai."

"I'll have those rustled up in a jiffy. Do you fancy anything to eat with them?"

"We're not big eaters but since there's four of us a special snack platter would be just the ticket."

"Rightyho; Gaston! One special snack platter if you'd be so kind."

"Nyaakay Manny. Be ready in five."

"Five minutes? That's pretty quick."

"Gaston's got one hell of a gift for the kitchen; which is just as well since a fair portion of our clientele get pretty tetchy when they're hungry. Got an individual table for four if you want."

"Yeah, that'll be great."

The four of them get seated with their drinks.

"Um, Rise; your drink's glowing. Is it supposed to do that?"

"Yeah, no problems Mai. It's got phosphors oak nectar in it."

"Oh, how expensive is this Rise? We've got the standard provision of coin from the organisation, but that's not exactly a lot."

"I've got it covered Lena."

"Have you been saving up?"

"A little tip Kammy; next time you have to travel far, join up with a trade caravan heading in the same direction by offering your services as a guard. It pays well, and the chances are you'll scare off anything that might've considered attacking the caravan just by being there."

"So what happens if you have to deal with bandits? You know the rules Rise."

"The rules don't expressly forbid kicking the crap out of them. The average bandit isn't much of fighter; they rely mainly on strength of numbers and the element of surprise. They're mostly guys as well so one swift kick to the happy sacks is all it usually takes to knock the fight out of them."

The conversation is interrupted by a small coughing fit from Mai.

"Whoa, you okay Mai?"

"Fine…fine, huff; this Ouzo stuffs got one hell of a kick. Not bad though; I could get used to it."

"Welcome to the wonderful world of booze Mai; although most people start out with something a damn site tamer than Ouzo."

"We're warriors Lena, taking the bull by the horns is the way we do things. Guess it's kind of fitting in a way."

"Speaking of which, what's with that group with the absurd weaponry? I know our swords are pretty big, but those things are ridiculous."

"That's the wrecking crew Kammy. They're basically the flag's private mercenary group; and possibly the best protection a caravan can hire. They cover a wide variety of jobs, but don't handle anything that explicitly involves hunting Yoma. That way the flag doesn't tread on the organisation's toes, so to speak."

"Kind of an odd name they've got."

"It's well earned; a few years back one of the nobles of Rabona had their daughter kidnapped by a bandit group, and they picked up the rescue mission. The bandits were located in a small fortress; the wrecking crew literally tore it apart during the rescue."

"Maybe we should look up whoever makes their gear; that armour looks like pretty good stuff."

"He's further in the back of this place. You can't quite see it from here but there's forge at the far end. It's part of how they keep this place warm."

There's a call from behind the bar.

"Special snack platter for four ready!"

"We're over here!"

"Cheers, be right there."

The waiter makes his way over to their table.

"Whoa, did anyone else see that?"

"See what Mai?"

"I thought I just saw a cat wearing a chef's hat behind the bar for a moment."

"Probably just a perspective trick or something."

The waiter places the snack platter in front of them.

"That's quite a lot of food. Are you sure that's not too much Rise?"

"Trust me, you've all got room for it. We might not need to eat like regular humans, but we can still enjoy some proper food once in a while."

The four of them dig in.

"Mff…nice…is this deep fried shrimp?"

"Dunno, but this spicy stuff goes down great!"

"Think this is a spring roll…"

"Anyone need another drink?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking beer this time. How about you Lena?"

"Cider for me. What about you Mai?"

"Cider sounds good. You having anything Rise?"

"Ginger ale for me."

The four of them continue to dine for a while.

"Looks like we've polished off all the food now."

"I'm going to check to see if the boss is free now. You three might as well have some fun."

Rise heads on over to the bar.

"Heya Manny; is the boss available now?"

"Yeah, she's free; I'll take you to her."

Manny takes Rise behind the bar and then up a short flight of steps. This leads to a large study type room; there are numerous tables all covered in a variety of objects. In particular are a number of maps, many of which have markings on them, and piles of notes. Leaning over one of the tables with her back to rise is a cloaked woman of fairly substantial stature. While the cloak hides her appearance, the hilts of two weapons can be seen poking out of it.

"It's been a while Leona. How's business?"

"Not bad, but could be better. The wrecking crew bring in enough to keep operations flowing smoothly so we're in no danger of going broke; but we can't really afford to expand our operations any further right now."

Leona turns around, revealing her to have black hair and dark skin. She has green eyes and her hair is styled in dreadlocks. Her clothing beneath the cloak seems to be made of some kind of reptile hide; it's predominantly green with red streaks, and seems to be studded in places with what look like large fangs.

"Looks like you've been pretty busy though."

"Yeah, I think something serious is brewing. There's been a lot of odd things happening lately."

"That's part of why I'm here; we had something weird turn up on our last job."

"You gonna spill the beans?"

"We'd basically got assigned to do a hit on a particularly powerful yoma; problem was something beat us to it."

"Something powerful enough to take down a strong yoma; now that's significant. What did you find?"

"Whatever it was, it killed him very quickly, and then appears to have eaten a large portion of him. I examined the injures on the corpse and found the most probable fatal injury was a pair of puncture wounds to the head and neck. There were also a couple of sizeable claw wounds, and an injury to the chest that suggested a gigantic barbed flail."

"Which parts did it eat?"

"It seemed to have concentrated mostly on the limbs; and one thing to note was the bones had been bitten through with very little splintering."

"Interesting; I think I might know what we're dealing with. They haven't been native to this land for a long time, but I believe the creature in question is something known as a Barioth."

"Not native; the organisation's not going to like this one bit."

"They'll have to drop the charade sooner or later; the same goes for the church."

"Speaking of which did you manage to get a source on the sample I gave you last time?"

"It's a fucium alloy; which is surprising since fucium ore is pretty much unheard of on this continent."

"Could you replicate it?"

"It'd be pricy; we'd have to import some of the materials; but we could do it."

"That's good to know."

"Still, since you've given me some pretty strong indications that we've got Barioth in the wilds again, there's a good chance a whole new line of business is gonna open up. One with plenty of opportunities for a skilled warrior like yourself."

"I can't see the organisation wanting to get involved; if it isn't yoma they're rarely interested."

"I was wondering if you'd be interested in a little freelance work on the side."

"Much as I like the idea; the higher ups get very arsy about that sort of thing."

"That said, some of these anomalies could be down to yoma. I think I'd be important to have the right people for the job if that's the case."

"That's pretty farcical as far as reasoning goes; but good enough for me, and it'd be enough for me to sweet talk my way out of trouble with the organisation. Rubel's devious, and tows the line by and large, but he won't tread on my toes just for a little independent thinking. Rimuto'd kick off if he knew, but I'm too far down the ranks for him to really give a shit so as long as things don't escalate too much I should be able to help you out."

"I suppose we'll cross that bridge if we get to it."

"You mentioned something about a lot of odd things happening lately; would you mind giving me a few more details?"

"Okay; I've been gathering information on abnormal events from across the continent. There's usually only a few in a given region, and most seem to happen away from human settlements; but when you put them all together, there's been a lot going on."

"Any particular pattern you can see?"

"A heavy bias towards the less well mapped areas of the land; but also towards areas where there's been some kind of significant geological event. Mount Surtsei to the north became active just over a year ago, and there's been signs of tectonic activity in the southern desert as well."

"Given how poorly populated and explored the desert is I wouldn't be too surprised if something unrecorded was lurking there."

"That makes the desert fairly low priority for now; we'd need a full blown exploratory team to do any kind of meaningful search."

"So what looks like the most pressing incidents?"

"First, and most obviously, we need to locate the Barioth nesting grounds. If they're far enough away from Pieta we can leave them be; but if it looks like they're gonna attack anyone using the roads we'll need to do something."

"Anything else nearby?"

"Yeah, there's a pretty thick highland forest not far to the southwest; judging from the maps I could find it's not been properly explored either. A couple of merchants tried to take a shortcut through there; next thing they know they hear what sounds like a wolf howl, but much louder, followed by some sort of light show. They pretty much crapped themselves and ran for it after that. There's also been reports of absolutely huge footprints being found near the lake at the edge of the forest as well."

"That does sound a bit like a yoma; although I'm surprised the merchants got away if that was the case. Anything else?"

"An expedition to mount Surtsei disappeared without a trace a few months ago. The area's not exactly stable so there's any number of things that could have gone wrong."

"Okay, what about further afield?"

"One of the farmsteads in the eastern territories has reported losing livestock; and finding odd scorch damage to the fields where the disappearances have occurred. Another strange incident in the western forests was the occurrence of some sort of dust cloud. Anyone breathing in the dust ended up feeling really weakened, but it sent the local wildlife berserk…oh and before I forget the was another pretty recent incident locally. Surtsei's eruption melted a large part of the Surtsei glacier, making some of the area more accessible. Apparently a group of prospectors thought they'd see if they could find anything valuable up there; they came rushing back a few days later. They were in such a hurry they abandoned all their gear and seemed half mad with terror. Took a lot of booze to calm them down, and they all just kept saying the same thing over and over…I saw it…the Jormungand!".

"Jormungand? Now that it is odd. If my memory serves me correctly the Jormungand was the mythical serpent that was supposed to be capable of encircling the land; but it was a sea serpent. Why'd they think they saw a sea serpent up a mountain?"

"Beats the hell out of me. I was able to get enough sense out of them to get a rough location pinned down, but they point blank refuse to go back; not for anything."

"Most intriguing; looks like it'll be a nightmare to get to mind so I guess we push that one down the list. Anything in the southern territories?"

"No reliable information I'm afraid. Between the shifting sands, mirages, poor maps and harsh conditions it's just not possible to pinpoint anything specific. The only location for weird happenings we can verify is the southern sea fortress."

"Ah…the haunted keep."

"Yeah, I've been there myself once you know. I don't know about being haunted but; something was seriously wrong with the place. Being abandoned by people is one thing, but there weren't any animals there either; in fact even the birds seemed to be trying to avoid flying over it. Needless to say I didn't stick around."

"How'd you get info on that place to begin with? It's one of the most isolated places on this land."

"From the same guys who caught the shrimp we serve; their fishing route goes past that part of the coast."

"Well, sounds like your information network's pretty solid. What's your next move?"

"We need to scout the incident sites; I was hoping we could recruit you, and ideally a few more warriors as well to check some of them out."

"That's going to be a lot easier said than done I'm afraid. There's a good chance we'll end up being sent after another yoma as soon as we're done with our current job, and quite a lot of the warriors of the organisation are real sticklers for towing the line. I'll probably be able to figure out some way of helping you out myself; but getting any of the other warriors on board won't be straightforward."

"How about those three who you brought along?"

"I'd say they're safe to bring in here, but beyond that I'm not sure. Lena's easy going, but she's one of the highest ranked warriors in the organisation. The management are always pretty keen to know exactly what she's doing at all times because of that. With Kammy there's the rank issue again; although not quite as bad. She's a bit of thrill seeker though so I think she'd be up for it. Mai's gonna be the safest bet, but she's about as green as it gets; I'm basically acting as a tutor for her at the moment. She's sweet natured and open minded, so I can't see her causing any problems though."

"Hmm; well, the wrecking crew can handle some of the scouting, but I'd rather not split them up if possible; they're used to working as a team."

"I'm afraid we'll just have to see how things turn out. It'll probably take a couple more days for my current job to conclude; and then it'll be a case of seeing how the organisation reacts. Whatever happens I'll make sure to drop by before I leave Pieta and give you an update."

"Thanks; oh, and before I forget Mickel wants a word with you."

"What's he cooked up this time?"

"He's been trying to cobble together some high quality gear; this land's pretty crappy when it comes to quality materials, but he thinks he's found a winning alloy from the local ores."

"I take it he wants me to give it a test run then."

"I'd imagine so; you're about the only person we know who could properly put it through its paces without getting killed in the process."

"I'll do it; if Mickel can produce something that can withstand the sort of punishment Yoma can dish out, then it'll mean I'll have a viable alternative to the organisation's supplies if I find myself in a pinch."

"You don't sound like you have an awful lot of faith in your; is employers the correct term?"

"We're all ultimately disposable to them; we're seen more as tools than people. Even those of high rank sometimes have the misfortune to find themselves sent on missions that are obviously extremely likely kill them. Someone like myself, who's maintained a consistently low rank, barely registers beyond being a curiosity. They've never been quick to provide me with any kind of aid; I've survived as long as I have because I make contingency plans."

"You actually still work for those guys?"

"It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. That, and desertion tends to be met with a rather terminal response; either outright execution or being sent on a blatant suicide mission."

"Maybe I should give you this now rather than later then."

Leona hands Rise a letter. Her brow crinkles with fury upon reading it; and in particular her canines noticeably enlarge.

"Bastards…I should have known…no, I've had an inkling for a long time, I've just never had the bravery to take the last step and see for myself."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I'll keep up the façade of being a dutiful, loyal, if somewhat weak and unreliable warrior for the meantime; but I'm not going to let this slide; and I have a favour to ask."

"What can I do?"

"If…everything turns to rat shit; do you think you could give Mai shelter here?"

"It wouldn't be the first time we've provided sanctuary. We're well aware that claymore's are forbidden from taking human lives so I doubt the organisation has the means to harm us. The wrecking crew can flatten any mercenary band they might send our way; and I've got a few favours in high places I can still call in if need be. If the absolute worst comes to the worst we'll smuggle her overseas."

"Thanks; that means a lot to me. I've outlived every other warrior I've tutored; I know I don't age physically, but I'm feeling the weight of all the regrets I've accumulated over the years now."

"How are you going to broach this with your fellow warriors?"

"There's only one I know it'll be safe to tell at this stage. She's a lot stronger and braver than me; and better at influencing the other warriors as well."

"Let me guess; Mira?"

"You've met her then. Good, that saves me having to explain who to contact if I screw up my investigation. If you see her before I do, make sure you show her that letter as well…and tell her if she thinks she might have to get her hands dirty to come and see me first."

Leona gives Rise a look of surprise. Rise gives her a knowing smile.

"The trick to breaking the rules is not getting caught, and that's something I have; quite a bit of experience with. I might not be the strongest warrior, the fastest, the most skilled with a sword, or the most accomplished yoki manipulator; but I'll be damned if I can find another warrior who can fight dirtier than I can."

Leona breaks out in a wide grin.

"I'll have to introduce you to an old friend of mine. Goes by the name of Captain Argosy; the self-proclaimed master of dirty fencing."

* * *

I'm thinking of having a surprise encounter with a monster for one of the warriors of the organisation in the next chapter. I'd like you to PM me with requests regarding which warrior gets to have a tussle with which monster. Please try to keep the match ups balanced and region relevant though; for example.

Claire Vs Great Jaggi in the desert

Helen Vs Rathian on the plains

Undine Vs Gravios at Mt Surtsei

Ophelia Vs Zinogre in the highland forest


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Back at the bar a shivering patron has a chat with bartender…

"I tell ya Manny; I've never going after snow hare again."

"That's a shame, you know Gaston swears by it when it comes to a winter stew; what brought this on?"

"Though I'd set out me traps, as par usual; next thing I know a bloody great snowball nails me from out of nowhere. Once I'd got the snow outa me eyes I look up and see a snow hare the size of a friggin bear staring down at me! It looks proper pissed as well; and the reason? I can see the remains of one of me traps hanging off its foot; and I think it knows it was me that set them up."

"Normally I'd accuse of you nudging the mushrooms, but given all the other chaos we've had lately I'm inclined to believe you. Whereabouts did this happen?"

"There's a small area of patchy forest near the base of the Surtsei glacier; the snow hare seem to like it there so I figured it'd be ripe pickings; just my luck to catch the biggest, baddest hare in the valley. It sent me packing with another giant snowball; by the time I stopped rolling I was halfway back to Pieta; I swear me heads still spinning from it."

"That might be the booze; calvados doesn't exactly lack in the potency department you know and you've been putting it away since you got here."

"Warms ya through though, that it does. Need it mind, I was chilled to the bone. Not all bad news though; the highland elk herds have moved closer to town. If ya need a shank of venison; that I can get for ya."

"Now that is interesting. The elk normally stay well away from human settlement; there must some reason for them to move closer to Pieta."

"Might be that bloody big hare spooked em. I know I needed to check me trousers after me run in, and it was certainly big enough to do some damage to something the size of an elk."

"I'll add this to the list of incidents; where were the elk herds before?"

Manny pulls out a cloth map from under the bar.

"Lemme see…I'd say about there. They like the cover they get from the forest, and the being halfway up those mountains would be enough to keep em safe from any fair weather wannabe hunter."

"Whereabouts are they now?"

"I'd say here; they've still got woods for cover, but they're a lot lower down now; makes them easier pickings. Must be something real nasty moved into their old patch for them to just skedaddle like that; 'specially considering they gone and made themselves available to all the lowland hunters; man and beast."

* * *

Back at the warrior's table…

"Hey, did you hear that Kammy?"

"I…hic…ain't got those cute pointy ears…so…fraid not…"

"I did; sounds like we might have another lead on the mystery diner."

"S' not fair…I wanted…hic…pointed ears…"

"Aw come on, you've got that hairstyle to make up for it."

Kammy leans over and hugs Mai.

"…hic...thanks…you're too damn cute though…ehehehehe…it's like hugging a pixie…"

"Kammy, please refrain from molesting your fellow warriors; and how come you're completely shitfaced already? You haven't had any more to drink than either of us."

"Little trick…I figured out a while back Lena…supress your yoki…and the booze hits you harder… s' great cos' you can sober up…in a couple of minutes if you need to."

"You might need to soon; eavesdropping might not be polite, but as an information gathering technique it's certainly effective. We should split up; if we spread out it'll increase the chances we overhear something interesting."

"Okay, where do you want us to go?"

"Mai, you head to the back of the hall; where Rise said the forge was supposed to be.

"I'm on it."

Mai heads away from the table.

Kammy, you head for the bar and keep putting them away, but make sure you don't get too drunk so keep off the spirits for now."

"Hic…sounds reasonable; I'll keep my ears open. Where're you gonna go?"

"I'll head on over to the dance floor. I'll be able to pick out anything important over the sound of the music."

Kammy makes her way over to the bar; Lena notices she's walking in a straight line and appears to be completely stable.

"Guess she was just merry rather than completely steaming."

Lena makes her way to the dance floor. She notices that thanks to the widely varied dress styles worn she isn't going to stand out much. After a few moments mingling and picking up the dance she starts to single out bits of the conversations.

"…Damn straight; told that cheating bastard he could stick it where the sun don't shine!..."

"…Heh, this place is great! I wonder if they've got any jobs here?..."

"…Don't feel so good…where're the bogs…urp…gonna have to be quick!..."

"…And he's just getting to the vinegar strokes, and then his mum walks in! Talk about an awkward way to come out of the closet…"

"…Buncha' claymores; never seen those girls let their hair down before…nah, cute; but a bit too scary…cracking pair on her mind…"

"…Yeah, we lost the honey, but the valuable stuff made it through…got jumped by a big fuck off bear, that's what…lost interest after it snagged the honey…twice the size of a normal one, and it was blue as well, and had some kind of carapace on its arms…"

("Interesting; bears aren't really our department, but a huge blue one? That's different; definitely not a Yoma if it just bagged the honey though…")

"…Was that a kid with those claymores? That sword's bigger than she is…"

"…She turned you down? I think she's goin' steady anyway…didn't you know she was part of the wrecking crew?..."

"…mmm, you've got a talent with your hands…you're a pianist? Let's go back to my room…do a few orchestral manoeuvres if catch my drift; hehehe…"

"…damn near shat myself…nah, didn't get a good look; it was too dark…cut the horse clean in half; if I hadn't stopped to take a leak it would've been me…glowing red eyes…no warning, it was silent; first thing I knew was getting splashed with horse blood…haven't ran that fast since the missus caught me with the neighbour…"

("Glowing golden eyes would've screamed Yoma; but that does sound like something pretty nasty all the same. Still; if he got away whatever it was must've settled for horse meat, and that's not yoma behaviour…")

"…Hell of an order, but they've paid up front…we'll figure it out; where there's a will there's a way…wrecking crew; sounds like overkill but they know what they like…even offered a bonus if we can do it quick enough...sounds like they're expecting trouble…"

"…Surtsei's gonna be the best bet…Dangerous; hell yeah, but volcanos have always got the best ore...heard about that, they went into the crater though…not a trace, trust me on this, fresh lava's hotter than molten steel…"

"…not much left of them…enough for me to get the bounty though…must'a had a hell of an appetite to scoff a whole bunch of bandits…no idea…best let the claymores handle it if that's the case…"

("Yeah, that does sound an awful lot like it's going to be our business in the not too distant future…")

"…footprints don't match any known species…way too big…about that sort of size, but they ain't fossils; they were fresh…thick enough forest to hide anything; some of the trees nearby had been knocked down though…"

("Awakened beings sometimes grow to an enormous size; but they tend to actively hide their presence. Huge footprints and smashed trees would scare away most humans, so unless it's a really dumb one I can probably rule that out. Okay, so that's four notable incidents just from this lot, one of which sounds a lot like yoma handiwork…")

Her train of thought is interrupted by a voice in her ear.

"Now you've got some seriously graceful moves on you girl; if you're interested there's a vacancy for a dancer here; and if you've can sing the band are looking for a female lead as well."

"Tempting; but I'm afraid I'm already a full time yoma hunter."

Lena turns around to face the source of the request. It belongs to slender but toned middle aged man with fairly dark skin and long red hair. He's wearing some kind of armour; made from reptile hide she doesn't recognise.

"Well the band are all members of the wrecking crew I'll have you know. Doing something creative can be a surprisingly good way of winding down after a particularly hectic job."

"I'm afraid I get relocated by the organisation pretty regularly so there's no way I'd be able to guarantee I'd be available."

"Ah well, never mind. If per chance your situation changes though and you fancy giving it a try just give us a shout."

"Are you a member of the wrecking crew?"

"Was. I'm still pretty handy in a fight, but some of my old injuries have finally caught up with me; I just haven't got the stamina for the more heavy duty jobs anymore. My skills are still solid though, so I can still make use of myself as a trainer; and as a bouncer now and again."

"Didn't catch your name."

"I'm Saul; and yours."

"Lena; number seven of the organisation."

Saul whistles.

"Nice to see I haven't lost my eye for the genuine article…"

The sound of breaking glass and raised voices suddenly cuts into the music.

"…ah bollocks; well, guess I'd better go and do my job. Hope I'll see you later."

As Saul makes his way over to the disturbance Lena is left to her thoughts for a few moments.

("Now I see why Rise said this place was different. Most people look at us with a mix of fear and revulsion, but Saul knew what I was and it didn't faze him at all. Maybe I should come back here when I get the chance.")

* * *

Meanwhile back with Rise…

"Thanks for the update Leona; if the organisation doesn't manage to kill me I'll make sure I call by more often."

"Looking forward to it Rise."

Rise makes her way back to the bar.

"Heya Manny; is Katrina about?"

"Isn't she always? I know it's pretty damn parky outside, but I'm not sure when the last time was that girl saw natural light."

"You know how she is when she warms to her element."

"If we didn't bring her meals I've got the feeling she'd forget to eat; but I suppose her work is for everyone's benefit in the end."

"You know how fine the line between genius and madness can sometimes be; once you look past her eccentricities she's got a truly brilliant mind. Plus she's a really nice person deep down."

"The number of times one of her concoctions has saved someone's life says it all. I reckon she'll be awake right now so you might as well head on down."

Rise makes her way down another short flight of stone steps; leading to another reinforced door. Rise knocks on the door.

"Be a minute…where'd I put those keys…"

"Bloody hell Katrina! What's with the security upgrade? You trying to create a golem on the sly?"

"Only if you can find me an assistant with both a lisp and a hunch."

"Easier said than done I'm afraid; besides, it's going to be a swine to get a lightning rod to run all the way down to here."

"Ways and means Rise, ways and means…ah…here we are."

There's a click and the door slides sideways, revealing Katrina and her lab. She's a fairly petite girl with slightly golden skin, black hair and noticeably pointed ears; her eye colour is obscured by a pair of darkened goggles, and her attire seems to consist largely of heavy robes so covered in burns and stains it's impossible to tell what colour they originally were. A moment later she flips up the darkened outer layer of the goggles, revealing her to have one blue and one brown eye. The lab itself has a rather noticeable divide; one side of which is exceptionally well organised, with carefully arranged books, bottles and notes; and surfaces that look clean enough to eat off. The other looks more like some kind of weapons testing site; covered in burns, pock marked with blast damage and strewn with debris. Along the divide the very top of some kind of retractable barrier can be seen poking out of the floor; presumably a blast shield.

"As for the security upgrade; let's just say some my materials could prove extremely dangerous if they fall into the wrong hands; not least the ones you provided me with."

"Not like you to get cautious all of a sudden; I mean, wasn't your catchphrase 'it's not like eyebrows take that long to grow back'?"

"Incendiaries are one thing; but that stuff…look, if you cut a chunk off a dead creature it shouldn't still be capable of…writhing…after an hour, let alone a month!"

"It was still alive?"

"Well…only in the loosest sense. There was still activity within the tissue, but it wasn't coordinated or anything; more like how a headless chicken sometimes keeps running around briefly."

"I guess that goes some way to explaining why yoma take so much killing. Decapitation generally does the trick though."

"That does make sense. I've heard how yoma can just reattach severed limbs and sometimes regenerated missing chunks of their torso's; but the tissue samples showed no sign of actually regenerating. I guess without the proper signals from the brain stem they remain in a kind of suspended state until they run out of whatever it is that keeps them going…what's it called…yoki?"

"Yeah that's it. Did you find any good ways of prematurely shutting it down?"

"It's pretty much immune to most standard poisons outside of absurdly large and potent doses. Burning works, but it is somewhat more resistant than most animal tissues; but corrosive fluids effectively destroyed most samples."

"That's worth knowing. Sounds to me that strong acid would prove to be an effective weapon against yoma."

"The delivery system would be tricky though, and that's not to mention the risk posed to the user. Mind you, I did find something that was in a league of its own, although I doubt it'll surprise you much considering you provided me with it."

"Ah, so the venom extract worked then."

"It stopped all activity in the tissues within seconds. I'm not sure how it would effect a living yoma, but it seems to interfere with whatever process is at work keeping severed yoma flesh alive."

"So it does cause yoki disruption."

"You don't sound terribly surprised; where exactly does this stuff come from Rise? The venom's completely clear; and that means it was harvested fresh from a living venom gland. There's only two ways I can think of that you could have done this. Either you're breaking into the organisation's laboratories; or you've got some kind of monster chained up somewhere."

"I'm afraid I can't tell you the source; but I can assure you it's neither of those, and while I can only get hold of small amounts at a time, trust me, getting it's no danger to me."

"…Well…I guess I'll take your word for it. Just be careful; given the effect it had on the yoma tissues; I wouldn't be surprised if it proves distinctly harmful to warriors like yourself."

"Have you had any luck figuring out the active chemicals?"

"Funny you should say that; while I can't replicate it outright I think I can produce something with a similar effect; be it considerably weaker. I ran some tests on some more standard…what's the word…basically, stuff that wasn't yoma flesh, and noticed a similarity to a couple of other chemicals I'd previously studied. It shares some properties with dragonfell berry juice; but many, many times stronger. Even with the best extraction and distillation processes available it'd be hard to even reach a fraction of the potency though; and it'd take a hell of a lot of dragonfell berries to do so."

"Doesn't sound very practical; is there anything else?"

"Ground up dracophage bugs produce a similar raw chemical, and if properly refined could produce something a bit closer, but they're a swine to source in quantity and pretty expensive. I get a small batch delivered with some of my import shipments, but I can't get hold of any more than that. The closest match I could find was a chemical present in Deviljho adrenaline; it's still considerably more dilute though, and normally functions as a vapour the creature projects mixed with its highly corrosive saliva and stomach acid."

"So how many of these Deviljho things would we need to get enough for a good sample?"

"Just one…"

"Brilliant! All we need to do is put in a request with your suppliers for some Deviljho parts and we're sorted!"

"…Sigh…I take it you've never heard of a Deviljho before today."

"No; why, is it important?"

"Here, look at this…"

Katrina produces a book on species native to an overseas land. She opens it on the section covering the Deviljho. Rise reads through it quickly."

"Well….Shit."

"Yeah, that's what most people say when they read about it…and what they do if they run into one."

"That thing sounds like it'd be borderline suicide for one of us warriors! What kind of looney tries to take down one of those down?"

"Usually a large, very well prepared, and extremely experienced group. Either that or our very own Leona."

"Are you telling me she's hunted those things?"

"She comes from a long line of specialist hunters; the Vangis family are pretty famous on the other side of the ocean for taking down beasts claimed to be unbeatable. You've seen that fancy armour of hers right? That's made from Deviljho hide."

"I could tell she'd be a cut above the rest in a fight; but I had no idea she was that good."

"She's pretty modest about it. According to her as long as you survive your first encounter with one; and don't spend the entirety of it filling your pants with shit; you'll pick up on how it moves and attacks pretty quickly. Once you've got that down it's supposedly just a case of holding your nerve and not running out of steam; because they can soak up a lot of punishment."

"Is a Barioth anything like one of them?"

"I wouldn't take one lightly; but a Barioth is nowhere near as dangerous as a Deviljho. Put it this way; if a Barioth encounters a Deviljho it either flies away as fast as its wings can carry it; or it gets savagely devoured."

"That's a relief; we've found evidence that suggests there might be Barioth nesting in this area."

"So they've returned; according to what records I could find in this land they've been extinct for over a century; and if they've come back, I somehow doubt they'll be the only species to return."

"Leona did say there'd been an awful lot of strange events recently."

"Then we'll need to be prepared. Pretty soon it's not just going to be yoma menacing the lands."

Rise glances over to the damaged side of the lab.

"By looks of your lab you're already onto a good start."

"This? Pah; this is standard stuff. Thanks to this land being a bit backward when it comes to technology I'm having to do quality control on most of the local sourced materials. One particular problem we've got is gunpowder; on the other side of the pond we normally produce it with something called fire herbs and nitroshrooms. Neither of these grow here, so I'm having to resort to making mineral gunpowder instead. Problem is it's got a bit more kick and a bit less stability; especially if it gets contaminated, so I'm having to test the blends to make sure they only explode when they're supposed to."

"You're making explosives? Sweet! What'd you use them for?"

"Mostly in bow guns, gun lances and ammunition; but some of it does go in boring old demolition charges and barrel bombs I suppose. Still, since the mineral stuff has that bit more kick it would be damn handy in siege weaponry; but once again; thanks to this continent being a wee bit backward technologically there're none of the large scale smelting and casting facilities needed to make them."

Rise examines some of the weapons on the damaged side of the lab.

"You know, if we'd have had even half this stuff available we'd have sent the yoma packing long ago. When I find out who's been responsible for keeping this land isolated all these years I'm going to break my foot off in their arse."

"Wouldn't that be a bit inconvenient?"

"I can regenerate well enough; and I reckon it's going to be a lot easier for me to grow my foot back than it is for them to find a skilled enough proctologist to extract a size fourteen steel greave from their posterior."

"Well I can bet whoever it is I'm probably pretty high on their shit list, so if they're stuck shuffling around on all fours it's going to make it lot easier for me to deal with them as well."

"On the subject of dealing…"

Rise hands a small list to Katrina.

"Okay…yeah, I've got most of these to hand; the rest'll require enriching to work with your physiology, but that shouldn't take me any longer than a day to do."

"Cheers; to be honest I do worry a bit about what'll happen to you if the authorities ever find out about this."

"It'd be the least of my worries; I'd bet one look at my specimen set would be enough to get me put on trial for witchcraft if I ever get raided…although I suspect anyone stupid enough to break into my storeroom would find themselves unable to report their findings; largely on account of having their head reduced to a charred stump thanks to the traps."

"Ah, always planning two steps ahead eh?"

"Three or four actually; I've already bribed the local law enforcement and we've got some blackmail material on both the local nobility and clergy should they get particularly pushy."

"How'd you manage that?"

"I doubt you'd be all that surprised to find both contain more than their fair share of individuals with a penchant for both the exotic pharmaceuticals and the elaborate weaponry I specialise in."

"Hehehe…If there's one thing that's remained a constant throughout my life; it's that nobody does hypocrisy quite like the privileged. Well, I'd best go and see Mickel now, catch you later Katrina."

"Later Rise."

Rise leaves the laboratory and heads back up to the bar. She's greeted with the sight of Kammy slumped face down on the bar top.

"Uh, are you okay?"

"Fine and dandy Rise. I might look dead to the world but I can still pick up the conversations going on here."

"So why the comatose pose?"

"Just trying the process the booze a bit faster. I got a wee bit too plastered earlier; and keeping still ought to speed things up a bit. I take it you found out a bit more about what's going on then?"

"I've got a better idea now; and it sounds like things are going to get real interesting in the not too distant future. I think we might've figured out what beat us to the kill on our last job, and it's most definitely not something we were expecting."

"Oh? Gonna tell me about it?"

Kammy makes her wolf ear hairstyle twitch.

"Turns out the most likely culprit was a creature that's supposed to have been extinct in this land for over a century. Something called a Barioth; and much as that sort of thing doesn't fall within our job description, I think it might be worth our while to get more involved."

"A Barioth eh? So the demon snow cat's real after all."

"You've heard of them?"

"Read about them; Pieta's got a good library, and since the last few jobs I've had have been in this area I figured it'd be a good place to pass the time. Speaking of which while I've been here I've picked up some interesting nuggets of information. Apparently something big went down in the desert about a month ago; a caravan found itself in the middle of some kind of weird earthquake. From what I heard the tremors just kept getting stronger instead of weaker, and the horses went so crazy they bust out of their harnesses. Just as well they did, cos' that's what saved the caravan crew's lives; they went to round them up again, and then a huge tremor hit, and all the carts got swallowed up by the earth. The goods were a total loss, but everyone made it out alive; minor miracle all things considered."

"Most weird events in the desert get put down to unreliable testimony; sunstroke and dehydration can play havoc with your senses; but something that serious isn't going to be ignored."

"Yeah, and since the whole caravan crew survived there's plenty of people to corroborate the events. Still, doesn't sound like Yoma related mischief given the lack of deaths."

"Hmm; headquarters is on the edge of the desert though. I doubt they're going to ignore something that serious practically on their doorstep."

"I think they might've done something already; just before I got the last job I had a look at the general assignment manifest for all the warriors that were double digits. They keep assigning number 47 jobs in that area, and I think her travel route seems to criss-cross the event site each time."

"So they're using the poor girl as bait then. Did you find out her name?"

"No, but I got the next best thing; her symbol."

"Good; we should warn her if we happen to run into her."

"I dunno how much that'd help her mind; it's not like she can go against orders."

"If she knows somethings up she'll at least be on her guard; and it's not like her orders state how she has to travel and what route she has to take."

"If she's smart she'll give it a wide berth, but still; I wonder what could've caused something like that? I've heard about a few legends of the desert, but nothing I've heard of sounded like something that could take out a whole caravan in one go."

"I take you're referring to those sand sharks we hear about every so often."

"Yeah, that and the twin horned screamer. Both of those sound like they could trash an individual cart, but a whole caravan? Unless those fables serious understated their strength I somehow doubt it."

"It's normally the other way round with such tales. Still, for all that the desert's on the organisations doorstep it's still pretty poorly mapped; so there's nothing to say those shifting sands aren't hiding something really nasty; we have had the occasional warrior disappear without a trace over the years."

"That…actually makes a lot of sense. If a warrior awakens we find out about it very quickly; and as far as I know every single deserter there's ever been has been hunted down. I know there're are a couple of specialised warriors who can pretty much track and trace by yoki sensitivity over extensive distances."

"As hard as we might try, our yoki can never be hidden completely. It's only ever truly extinguished with our passing…"

Rise and Kammy are alerted by something.

"Hey, Can you feel that? You don't think a Yoma's sneaked in here?"

"No; that's actually Mai."

"Oh, good; I thought I'd…hang on, why the hell's she releasing her Yoki?"

"If I had to guess; someone around here's asked her to help out with some kind of physically demanding task."

"Our job's hunting Yoma, not donkey work; and what've they got her doing that could require her to tap into her Yoki?"

"It feels like she's in the area of the forge at the back of this place, so they've probably asked her to shift an anvil or something."

"Well, you'd better make sure nothing funny's going on. I get the impression she's a bit naïve, and there's no shortage of bastards about who wouldn't think twice about using someone like her."

"If they do they'll probably find themselves ending up with an appointment for a thorough kicking in the not too distant future."

"You know if you keep bending the rules like that it might come back to bite you."

"I didn't say anything about who'd be delivering the actual drubbing. See that bunch of lads over by the private rooms? That's The Boys. They might look like a simple bunch of thugs, but they work by a pretty strict code of conduct. They won't beat the shit out of just anybody, but if you present a good case that the would be recipient of said beating clearly deserves it then they'll be more than happy to apply the necessary corrective physical measures to the individual or individuals in question for a reasonable fee. Think of them as vigilantes for hire."

"Now that is worth knowing; but you might want to hurry; I'll bet Lena's already headed over to see what all the fuss is about."

"Will do; see you shortly Kammy."

Rise hurries in the direction of the forge; the crowd obscuring anything that might be happening there. The crowd gets denser as she approaches the forge itself, and she overhears a few of the people talking.

"…Is…that real? That's gotta be a prop or something…"

"…Guess that kid eats her spinach…"

"…She's a Claymore, look at her eyes…"

"…So they really are that strong…"

"…Didn't know they came in fun size…"

"…Seriously ambivalent mate; scary and adorable…"

Rise manages to get through the crowd and get a clear view of what's going on. It's the somewhat surreal spectacle of Mai assisting at the forge by lifting a mechanical power hammer into place, that judging from its size weighs several hundred kilos. An exceedingly large man in blacksmithing gear appears to be fixing it into its mountings.

"All good Mai; you can relax now."

There's a brief creak from the frame as Mai releases hammer.

"Yeah, that's lined up nicely; all that's left now is the drive gear."

"Can I help with that too Mickel?"

"Sorry, but I'll have to do that bit myself; it's a pretty complicated set up."

"Aww…"

Mickel pats Mai on the head.

"Now, now; no need to wear that kind of face. I've got jobs lined up pretty much every night so I'll be able to give you a proper forging lesson next time."

Rise approaches the conversation.

"Heya Mickel; what happened to the lads you normally use as extra muscle?"

"That bunch o' lily livered bastards threw in the towel; said the work was too brutal. No great loss mind; I could see them bloody toerags eyeing up the stock. Reckon' if I'd let my eyes off of 'em they'd have nicked anything that wasn't nailed down."

Mickel turns around to reveal himself to be clean shaven with long dark hair, golden tinted skin and slightly pointed ears. He rises up to his full height, and towers almost a clear foot over Rise; and absolutely dwarfs Mai. While his blacksmithing attire covers most of his physique, it's clear he's exceedingly well built as well.

"Still, I have to say this little lassie's an absolute lifesaver though; I know me limits, and getting that hammer in place on me own would've given me the mother of all hernias. And while we're on the subject of favours; sorry to be a bit cheeky but I could ask for another?"

"If it's what I think it is; not a problem. In fact, I'm pretty interested to see what you've rustled up this time."

"They're just over here."

Mickle escorts Rise and Mai over to a weapons rack.

"For all that the ores of this land are derided somewhat…"

Rise lets out a snicker.

"Sigh, I said ores; get yer mind out of the gutter. Anyway, the locally sourced iron might be just fine for farming tools; but I wouldn't call it weapons grade; and I can't exactly get the good stuff shipped in every time so I've figured experimenting with alloys might be worth a shot. I think I'm onto a winner here; but there's only so much you can do to test the stuff here in the forge, so I was wondering if you'd be kind enough to put some of these through their paces."

Mai's already viewing the contents of the rack with sparkly eyes. She takes hold of a hefty looking axe.

"Please may I take this one?"

"Of course you can love; but just so you know that's a switch axe. See the little lever by the base of hand guard? Give that a yank and it'll transform."

Mai pulls the lever; the axe head slides down the shaft and stops just above the handguard, followed by a previously concealed blade emerging from the shaft and swinging into place; its base locking into a notch at the top of the axe head, effectively forming a large, single edged sword.

"Oh, now that is clever; you are gonna have to show me how to make one of these!"

Rise takes note of Mai's elated state.

"I never took you for a weapons nut Mai."

"Well; it's not just weapons; metalwork's in my blood. Pretty much everyone in my family was some kind of metal worker; everything from classical blacksmithing to jewellery work. If it hadn't been for the yoma I'd probably be an apprentice by now…."

Mai's radiant grin shifts to something more reminiscent of a slasher smile.

"…but this bad boy ought to help me get a little payback. Hehehehe…"

The noise of another weapon sliding out of the rack interrupts the conversation. Everyone turns to see Lena drawing a great sword fully twice the size of her claymore out of the rack.

"Nice balance; I'll give this not so little beauty a whirl."

"Heya Lena; I guess I'm going to need to do some explaining."

"No need to be concerned about me or Kammy Rise; the way I see it our job might be yoma hunting, but the organisation doesn't dictate our actions between missions. Besides, there's a good chance there's something out there that considers yoma a menu option; so I'm figuring whatever it is, it's poked its nose into our business; and that's not something we can ignore."

Kammy enters the conversation.

"Yeah, and sitting on our arses of waiting for the pint sized cue ball to show up isn't my idea of time well spent. We only found the one body; and I'd bet money that bastard wasn't running a solo operation. If his cronies are still out there, then we've got unfished business."

Kammy casts her eyes onto the weapons rack and then turns to Mickel.

"Did you say you were looking for someone to give some of these a test run?"

"Aye; that I did."

"Well, I can say I'm happy to oblige you in that regard…"

She removes a pair of matching blades from the rack.

"…always did like the feel of a sword in each hand; pity the organisation were too stingy to let me have a second claymore."

Rise takes a paired lance and great shield out the rack.

"Guess I'll be handling the defence then. How soon do you want to move out Lena?"

"Might as well get a good night's sleep first; but tomorrow morning we make our move. I might be being a little bit optimistic here, but I reckon we should head for the trashed hideout first; if we're lucky a stray yoma or two might've decided to try and resettle the place."

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in the highland woods…

Undine was starting to suspect she'd been given a bum mission. Word had reached someone in the organisation that something weird had happened in some forest miles from civilisation and she'd been assigned to go and check it out. The thing was, warriors were almost never assigned a job unless it had been all but confirmed a yoma was in the area; but her brief didn't indicate that. In fact, she'd been tempted to check she wasn't being trolled by one of the other warriors when she'd first gone over the details, which at this time she felt needed checking again.

"Sigh; 'Strange light display reported in remote forest by a small group of merchants, followed by a very loud roar. The light display sounds similar to the effect caused by a substantial yoki release; possibly indicating a yoma'…Yoma my arse; those merchants would've been a smorgasbord if it was. I'll bet this whole thing's someone's idea of joke…Hang on…"

Undine stops talking and starts to listen carefully.

"… _what happened to the background noise? The bats, birds and insects have all shut up…something must've spooked them…can't feel and yoki though so…"_

The distinctive sound of wood splintering underfoot emanates from a patch of dense bushes nearby.

"… _heh…you ain't getting the drop on me pal; and if you've got the skill to hide your yoki that well, then maybe you're gonna make hauling my arse all the way out here worthwhile!..."_

Undine carefully moves away from the direction of the noise, draws her swords and takes up a fighting stance. There's another crunch, but quite a bit louder.

" _Heavyweight as well eh? This ought to be fun!..."_

The bushes part and a large creature emerges from them.

" _What the hell? That's…well; I've never seen a wolf that big before…"_

The creature steps out into the moonlight, revealing it greater detail. While it has a roughly wolf like shape, it's much larger, and it appears to be covered in a mix of fur, scales and chitin, with a bright colouration of vivid yellow of turquoise. Its tail is somewhat odd, being long and having a flattened shape; and it's claws are much more pronounced than a wolves. It also has a pair of distinctive serrated horns.

"Oh great, a supersized, psychedelic wolf…"

Having accidently raised her voice, the creature notices her presence.

"Rats; so much for stealth. Now, what are you really? I can't sense any Yoki from you, but I've never heard of a creature like you before; so let's see what you make of this."

Undine releases a little of Yoki; sending out a small pressure wave. The creature stops in its tracks and stares her down, before giving her a small growl.

"Most animals flee once they figure out I'm no human; but you're holding your ground. Okay, let's see what you make of this."

Undine releases more of yoki; she emits a stronger pressure wave, starts to glow slightly, and her eyes turn golden. The creature gives her an indignant huff in response.

"What, not impressed? Well let's see you do better!"

As if in response, the creature performs a stretching motion and starts to howl. Moments later electricity arcs across its body, and spots of glowing light appear in its fur.

"Okay; that I did not expect; but I guess you were the one who gave those merchants the light show. I still can't sense any Yoki from you though, so I'm pretty sure you ain't a yoma; which means my business here is done with."

Undine starts to back away slowly; the creature responds with what sounds like a mix between a growl and a chuckle, but doesn't make any attempt to pursue her.

"You're just protecting your territory. Okay, I get it; you're top bitch around here."

After Undine has backed away to quite a considerable distance the creature turns around with its head held high and makes its way back into the denser parts of the forest.

"Ah well, that was technically waste of time; but somehow I don't feel disappointed. I wonder what the organisation's gonna make of this though?"

* * *

Bit of long chapter there; and next time there'll be some real action.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

Back at Pieta the four warriors have spent the night at the organisation owned lodgings. While Kammy, Lena and Rise have all slept on the floor, sitting and propped up against their swords; Mai is still asleep and tucked up in a regular bed.

"You know Rise, you shouldn't spoil her. She needs to get used to roughing it if she's going to cope with a warrior's life."

"This was more for our benefit than hers Lena; she tends to have nightmares if she sleeps in a sitting position and screams in her sleep."

"Ah…so how come a normal bed works just fine?"

"No idea; it just does."

"Then what do you do if you have to camp out?"

"I let her rest on me; that seems to help."

Lena stifles a small chuckle.

"And you wonder why I don't take students."

Kammy gives Mai a gentle shake to wake her up.

"Time to get up sleepyhead; we've got ground to cover and arse to kick."

"Funnyahhh…"

"Nice try; but it'll take a cuter yawn than that to best me."

"Meanie."

"Come on, get up; or am I gonna have to take you outside and dunk you in the horse trough."

"Gyah! Fair enough, point taken."

Mai springs out of bed and stretches.

"Whoa, careful; you stretch like that and you might agitate your stigma."

"I'll be okay; mine's on my back."

"What? You are joking aren't you?"

"Nope, that's part of why I'm number 46."

Mai rolls down the back of her uniform; showing a pair of large, stitched wounds on her lower back.

Rise enters the conversation.

"The two lowest ranks are usually reserved for subjects who've turned out somewhat different from their fellow warriors; be it from an abnormal reaction to the initial implant, or from a modified procedure. Sadly these warriors usually fatally destabilise within a fairly short time frame, but it's not unknown for them to be highly successful; I myself was a number 46 when I first entered active service."

"You're ranked in the 30's; how's that successful?"

"Over one hundred generations of warriors have been and gone since I became a fully-fledged warrior; and I'm still alive and still have my humanity Kammy. No one else comes close to that; and if you were to measure success in terms of yoma exterminations; I hold the record there as well."

"Then shouldn't you be a higher rank?"

"Well, I've also mastered the art of looking thoroughly unimpressive while still somehow surviving."

Lena enters the conversation.

"Hence that old nickname of yours; Rise of the hidden fangs."

Rise gives Lena a somewhat menacing glare with an unsettling smile.

"Well now, it's been a long time since I've heard that name. I wouldn't casually throw it around if I were you though; there's more to it than you know."

Lena's expression shifts very slightly; with her eyes giving away a small fear response.

"Woah, Lena! What's the matter?"

"Kammy, take a closer look at her smile."

The two of them take a more detailed look, and Rise slightly widens her smile to make it easier to see her now significantly elongated canines, along with a multitude of small, sharp fangs.

"So? What's the big deal, a little yoki and…oh…"

"Penny dropped yet Kammy?"

"You didn't use any Yoki."

"Exactly."

Mai interrupts the conversation.

"Is she doing the creepy smile? Rise! Don't be mean to them!"

"Okay, okay; I'll stop."

Lena and Kammy watch very closely as her canines retract and her teeth return to normal.

"Well, I've got to pick up a few things from the flag; I don't suppose you three would be kind enough finish things off here for me while I'm gone?"

Rise walks past a slightly stunned Kammy and Lena while Mai enthusiastically waves her goodbye.

"Lena, what the hell just happened?"

"Rise just made it very clear her rank isn't representative of her actual ability as a warrior. When the organisation determines our ranks it's generally done on the grounds of pre-set parameters; and of those the one that generally carries the most weight is the magnitude of yoki a warrior can stably wield."

"From what I've heard that's something Rise has always scored extremely poorly on."

"All of her other abilities are very good though; far above what would be expected of a 30's ranked warrior; and some even exceeding those of single digit warriors. The importance of yoki in this is that it's generally accepted that the more yoki a warrior can draw on; the more they can improve their baseline abilities. For example; I doubt you've failed to notice I'm pretty short compared to most of the other warriors, and as you might expect if I'm not using any yoki I'm usually physically weaker as well; in fact most warriors within the top twenty exceed me in terms of base strength."

"Yet you're known as demon hand Lena; the warrior who can drive her bare fingers right through her enemies."

"That's thanks to yoki manipulation; once augmented my strength is amongst the highest in the organisation. Now, consider for a moment something dependant on the ability to draw on yoki, but independent of our baseline abilities; such as say, drawing on enough yoki to turn your eyes gold."

"Yeah, that's pretty constant…hang on…doesn't Rise always have gold eyes?"

"Precisely; it's generally been assumed that was just an abnormal cosmetic reaction to the infusion process; but now I'm not so sure…especially considering she just demonstrated canine metamorphosis."

"That normally only happens when we get serious; and demands enough yoki to give anyone nearby a good light show."

"Yet we saw none of that; and thus it leads to a somewhat worrying conclusion; Rise requires far less yoki to augment her abilities than one would normally expect."

"Well…I guess that's a good thing for us."

"As long as we don't end up having some kind of conflict of interests if you get what I mean Kammy."

"Sigh; I see what you're getting at. She doesn't exactly work from the organisation's script."

"It does still beg the question though; why did she show us that?"

"Isn't it obvious? She thinks she can trust you!"

"Uh, Mai…"

"Yeah, I heard every word; so I guess I'll just tell you what she said to me. 'Trust is mutual. You must offer it to receive it. Conversely you should always be wary of those who hide the facts from you; and since the organisation seems bent on keeping us in the dark as much as possible, we should assume there is some kind of ulterior motive to their actions'."

"She's no longer loyal to the organisation then…"

"…Hold your horses Lena; she said this as well; 'Consider what the organisation tells us our purpose as warriors is meant to be. We are supposed to be the force that protects the people of this land from yoma predation. That is what I am loyal to first and foremost; should a warrior, or indeed the organisation itself, ever stray from this; they can consider me their enemy."

"Heh; so she's basically saying she's nobodies bitch at the end of the day. I can drink to that; how about you Lena?"

"I agree with her stance in principle; but it might prove problematic in practice. That said, she's shown that she's willing to trust us, so it's only fair we reciprocate the sentiment."

"So you're both going to be okay with Rise then?"

"Yeah, you ain't got nothing to worry about Mai."

"She'll need to be a bit more careful with her actions while she's in my company though; as a single digit warrior the organisation tends to pay me close attention."

"Even so, I can't see us having any real problems on that front; I mean, as it stands all we're doing is being thorough. It's not our fault if something unexpected shows up while we're on a mission."

"Hey Mai; did Rise say anything about what she was getting from The Flag?"

"She didn't give me the details; she just said something about trying to be prepared for any eventuality."

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. Have we got anything left to sort before we head out?"

"Nah, we usually travel pretty light so it's not like there's much to organise in the first place. No harm double checking though."

"Oh; Rise said to make sure we've all got our own maps, just in case we get separated."

* * *

Meanwhile out in the snowfields…

Saul leads a small group of individuals through an area of patchy forest.

"One good thing about snow; makes it easier to track things."

"So I'm not just freezing my bollocks off on a wild goose chase; that's reassuring; and didn't you quit hunting Saul?"

"Well; I figured since I kicked the crap out of those troublemakers last night without breaking a sweat I must be in better shape than I thought. 'Sides; ain't one of you got a snowy hunt on your guild cards to date, so you're gonna need someone in the know with you."

"Any idea what we're up against?"

"At this point I reckon a Lagombi."

"Then isn't bringing all of us along a bit of overkill?"

"Can't be too careful; especially considering you lads are still bit green. Besides, I got wind that there's a lot of Claymores in the Pieta region at the moment; and that probably means there's a yoma problem; and considering I happened to bump into the number seven last night I reckon there's some real strong yoma about an all."

"Hunting yoma's not our job mate."

"That don't make no difference to them; as far as they're concerned you're on the menu if you run into them. They'll think twice about trying their luck with a whole band of heavily armed fighters though; especially considering what happened to the last one that had a go."

"Is that the goofy looking twat we've got hanging over the bar?"

"Yep, that's the one; Hodges landed a few rounds of crag shot in his belly; the head was about the only thing left that was recognisable."

"Now that you mention it, I didn't see Hodges last night."

"He's down in Rabona; we're trying to get another branch of The Flag up and running down there."

"I thought we didn't have the lucre."

"We'd be pushing it a bit; but if we can send back evidence of our kind of business being present in this land, then the guild should give us a grant."

"Hey, uh…Lagombi are supposed to herbivores, right?"

"Mostly; they won't turn down a spot of scavenged meat if the opportunity presents itself, but they aren't what you'd call actively predatory."

"Well, what do you make of this then?"

The hunting party examine the find; it appears to be the partial skeleton of some kind of large and antlered hoofed animal. It's been heavily mauled; but traces of fur and meat are left on it in places, showing it to still be fairly fresh.

"Heh, that looks a little bit like bulldrome leftovers to me."

"I never knew bulldrome went after elk."

"They go by nature's standard rules when to comes to prey; 'I'm bigger than you; get in my belly!'"

"Are those tusk marks on the trees?"

"Oh yeah, that's definitely a bulldrome's handiwork; and I think I can see some trotter tracks as well."

"Whoa; those look like they belong to one big porker."

"Good news if you ask me; I'm looking forward to a bit of bully bacon; and if it's a big bastard then there's gonna be enough to go round. Looks like the hunts on lads!"

* * *

Back at Pieta Rise re-joins the group of warriors.

"Hi Rise; got everything sorted?"

"Yeah, they had everything I asked for."

"Um, Rise; I thought about that little display you gave us earlier, and…well…"

Kammy interrupts.

"Look; we get that you're doing things your own way; and we're cool with that; but you need to be more careful if you're with us. The organisation keeps a bit of a closer eye on us; so if you deviate from the script; so to speak; they'll be a lot more likely to give you shit over it."

"Kammy, I'd appreciate it if you didn't interrupt me in future."

"No offence Lena; but we're in a hurry. I know your last job involved blending in with a pack of counts and countesses, but you don't need to use flowery language around us; it just slows things down."

"Sigh, fair enough; you've got me there."

"…Just out of interest, what were they like?"

"I think their titles would have been more accurate if they'd had one silent letter in them if you get what I mean Rise."

"Heh; nothing's changed then. Well, glad to hear we aren't going to have any problems; and since you're the leader Lena, care to do the honours?"

Lena draws her claymore; the other three join her moments later, all crossing their swords.

"The hunt; is on!"

The four of them make their way out of the property.

"Looks like we've got clear skies and low winds; so it's gonna be a bit more comfortable than our last trip into the wild."

It doesn't take them long to exit the city gates.

"Hey, something you all might want to be a bit careful of; since we've got clear weather and bright sunshine we'll be getting a lot of light reflected off the snow."

"If you're talking about snow blindness Rise then don't worry about it; I've had a couple of missions in these sort of conditions in the past; and it turns out we're a lot more resistant to it than regular humans, even without using any yoki."

"Ah, good; I wasn't sure if it was just me."

"So…um, why do you keep your eyes golden Rise?"

"I like to make sure I can perceive my surroundings as well possible at all times Mai."

"Most warriors just use their ability to sense yoki to detect threats."

"That requires you to tap into your own yoki though; and that can be enough to make you detectable to more sensitive yoma; and likewise warriors who've honed their ability to sense it."

"You know, you're starting to sound a little paranoid Rise."

"Well, how much do you know about the number 5 of the organisation Lena?"

"Actually…nothing; other than that she's obviously really strong."

"Her name's Rafaela; and she's the organisation's hunting dog when it comes to rogue warriors. She's both exceptional at detecting, and hiding her own yoki; to the extent that I'd have to say only Terresa was better than her when it came to perception. Her rank isn't reflective of her strength either; she's easily as strong as some of the number one's of previous generations. I reckon she's probably the biggest threat to me at the moment; if she ever gets on my case I'll have to pull every dirty trick I've got to survive."

"I don't suppose there's any chance of you showing us any of these dirty tricks somewhere down the line."

"If we get to spar at some point I'll show you a few; but don't expect me to reveal my best ones Kammy."

"Now you're starting to sound like one of those conjurers that entertain people with sleight of hand tricks."

"That's a pretty good analogy actually; since making someone look the wrong way at the right time can sometimes be enough to completely turn a fight around. In fact, you probably already know the basics; you've just never thought about how to implement them into the fighting style of a warrior."

"So I take it you start with throwing the likes of grace, dignity and honour out of the window."

"Not straight away. Those concepts all work just fine if you genuinely are the better fighter; it's only if you aren't that they're a shortcut to the morgue. No; knowledge is step one; know your enemy; know your surroundings; where possible ensure your enemy is in surroundings unfamiliar to them; and make sure your enemy knows as little about you as possible…."

The four of them make their way through the snowy wilderness. It doesn't take them long to get back to the hideout. It resembles a modest stone fort; be it somewhat damaged and partially reclaimed by nature. It consists of three fairly large stone buildings and a single stone tower; all of them are have a significant quantity of plant life covering the walls, and the roof of one of the buildings in clearly no longer intact. Roughly central to the buildings is a yard containing what looks like a disused well; and some cart wreckage. The yard is raised somewhat compared to its surroundings; the snow covering it is extremely level, suggesting it to paved stone. A high stone wall links the structures, forming a perimeter with entrances on the east and west sides. At one point the wall has smashed, and clearly very recently as the debris is all nearby and there is a short trench in the snow extending outward from the breach in the wall. The remains of an old road passes through the outpost, although this too has all but been reclaimed by nature. The area surrounding the outpost consists mostly of featureless snow, with the occasional large rock; although a forest is visible in the distance to the east.

"I don't suppose you've got any idea what this place was supposed to be Rise?"

"I'm not completely sure Lina; but I think it started out as a hunting outpost. It's a really old structure though; and before that awakened being moved in I reckon it'd have been abandoned for decades."

"I don't think he'd set up shop here for very long either; aside from the damage caused by the fight the place looks relatively undisturbed."

"So why was it abandoned in the first place then? And more to the point; why was it never resettled?"

"I suspect those two reasons are one and the same Mai; back when I was a wee nipper a bit of local folklore centred on the Wendigo; a horrible, once human creature that fed on human flesh."

"That sounds exactly like a Yoma."

"While I suspect it might've been Lena, the legend went that the Wendigo was once a human hunter who became stranded after his group was caught in an avalanche. He was the sole survivor, but thanks to his injuries he couldn't make his way back to civilisation; and so in his desperation to survive he kept himself alive by feeding on the remains of former colleges. This apparently cursed him; twisting his form into that of a monster, and filling him with a hunger that could only be sated by devouring humans. The Wendigo would keep away from towns, but small isolated outposts like this one were fair game; in fact one detail that makes me think the Wendigo might not have been a yoma is there are actual accounts of its attacks. Yoma on the other hand are very careful not to leave survivors whenever they strike."

"I read about those at Pieta library; according to what I could find it tended to ambush its victims under the cover of a blizzard; or sometimes by concealing itself in the snow. It was supposed to be so fast the only thing the survivors got the see was a brief blur of white; and then the next thing they knew one of their buddies would be either be stone dead and with missing body parts; or there'd just be a bloodstain on the snow where he'd been. I could only find one account that gave any sort of description at all. It mentioned something about seeing its mouth emerge from the snow for a split second; it had tusks that were as long and thick as a human arm. Needless to say in that case it bit the victim in half so fast he didn't even get to scream."

"Umm; Kammy; has it occurred to you that what you just described sounds an awful lot like the sort of equipment the creature that did for our former hunting target appeared to possesses?"

"That's…actually a pretty good point Mai. Makes you wonder if the legendary Wendigo has perhaps developed a taste for yoma flesh."

"…Wait a minute. The Wendigo was a legend that spread amongst the snowbound villages; whist it never really persisted in more built up areas like Pieta. That said, the myth of the demon snow cat didn't circulate out in the sticks, but is prevalent in Pieta and the other major settlements in this area. Could the two be one and the same?"

"While I'm not terribly familiar with either legend Rise; my perspective is this; both legends sound to me like they grew out of the same thing; a combination of separate incidents involving yoma, and some manner of extremely potent predatory creature. Normally I'd assume that all the casualties were the result of the yoma dwelling in these parts; but given what we discovered on the last job it's hard not to conclude that there's something very dangerous out there that's most likely not a yoma; and that the creature in question isn't shy about adding both humans and yoma to its diet."

"Well Lena; given what my enquiries at The Flag uncovered the most likely culprit in this case is a Barioth, and that fits the legend of the demon snow cat pretty well. That said I wouldn't rule out the possibility that the Wendigo and the Barioth aren't one and the same; for all that the yoma tend to be blamed for many of the deaths out the wild, I wouldn't be surprised if there are creatures out there that we don't have records of, on account of nobody surviving an encounter with them."

"Good point; a regular human wouldn't have a snowflakes chance in a volcano against something capable of chomping its way through an awakened being. And keeping to that chain of thought; how are we gonna make sure we don't end up getting digested? If this thing isn't a yoma; our yoki sense isn't gonna help us one bit; we're gonna have to rely on our regular old human senses, and by the sounds of it we're dealing with an ambush predator with no shortage of talent."

"That comes back to what I was saying on the way here Kammy; we might not know exactly what we're up against, but we do have a rough idea of its capabilities. We also know this area falls within its hunting territory; so it should come back here at some point. Before it does, we need to make sure we know our surroundings properly; and we ought to lay down a few measures to swing things in our favour, such as some bait, a couple of traps, a safe and secure area we can retreat to if things get out of hand, and if possible come up with something to counteract its own tactics."

"On that last point; if it's capable of getting the drop on an awakened being, then it'll most likely have some way of silently approaching its prey; and it probably possess some kind of natural camouflage."

"Barioth are supposed to be able to fly Lena; so what you said about it getting the drop on its quarry, just might be quite literal in nature."

"In that case checking out the buildings sounds like best way to start; since if it does show up it at least won't be able to ambush us from the air."

The four of them make their way through the structures. A couple of minutes later they all regroup to discuss their findings.

"Got some good news; the building I checked out is not only still structurally sound, but is has a basement that contains a small armoury."

"That's all well and good Mai, but given how long this place has been abandoned I wouldn't bet on any of it being in any sort of condition resembling usable."

"Maybe not for its original purposes Kammy; but it doesn't take much to turn a knackered old set of armour into a reasonable decoy. The buildings I checked in weren't so great; there's a tree growing through the middle of the tower; so aside from there not being enough room to swing a cat in there, I don't think it'd be stable enough to withstand the rigours of our kind of combat."

"Hmm; it's still a half decent vantage point though Lena. Maybe we could set something up on top of it?"

"Well, what did you two find out on your search?"

"You first Kammy."

"Right; well, the building I checked might've been some sort of holding facility. Several of the rooms had the remains of caged partitions in them; and I found quite a lot of bones in one of them. They looked really old though, so I doubt our previous target was responsible for them."

"Old bones eh? Well, I couldn't really tell what the building I checked out was supposed to be on account of the roof and upper floor having mostly collapsed. The walls are all still good though; so it can still serve as cover if need be. Still, I think I need to give that bone pile a look."

"Be my guest Rise."

The four of them make their way into the holding facility. Rise closely examines the bones.

"So…anything you can figure out from them?"

"Yeah, and its lot grimmer that I was expecting. There're are the sort of marks that get left on bones in the process of flensing on these, along with the sort of scratches that could be produced by something with relatively small and non-canine teeth gnawing on them. This isn't the result of either yoma of beast; these bones are the left overs of a cannibal."

"That's…not what I wanted to hear."

"The good news is whoever was responsible is almost certainly long gone Lena, since all of these bones appear to be decades old."

"At least it's not going to be our problem then; although I wonder what we'd do if the cannibal did show up. I mean, the rules do say we aren't allowed to kill humans."

"My suggestion? Overkill the bastard far beyond the point of being recognisable, feed the remains to the nearby wildlife; and if we somehow got put on the spot we all swear blind it was a Wendigo."

"Not bad Kammy; but a better solution is to stick to the letter rule; just not the spirit. In these sorts of conditions we could knock him out and bury him in the snow; and either hypothermia or suffocation would do the job for us."

"…You're starting to sound an awful lot like you've done this sort of thing before Rise."

"What can I say; there's been homicidal lunatics about for longer than any us, and given our line of work I'd have to say we're more likely to run into them than most, so it makes sense to plan for that particular eventuality."

"Fair enough. Well, we've got a good picture of the lay of land now, and it sounds like that basement could double up as a fall back area if things get out of hand."

"When I popped down to The Flag this morning I picked up some stuff that out to help out with the rest. The kitchen had some well hung game that'd gone past the point of being fit for consumption; it's got a pretty powerful odour and should be a magnet for any carnivores in the area. I also picked up a couple of nets; a selection of poisons; some paint balls; and some ready-made firebombs. Be real careful with the last ones though; I don't know exactly how they're made but they've some kind of chemical in them that ignites on contact with air."

"Good, sounds like with everything we've got now we shouldn't have any problems assembling traps, bait and decoys. I'm a little surprised the yoma haven't tried to take this place back though; the basement in particular would make for an excellent hiding place."

"Hold that thought Lena; for all we know they might yet try."

"In that case we ought to get prepared and hunkered down as soon as we can then. Oh, how're going to make the decoys? The armour won't stand up on its own."

"Build some snowmen?"

"Um…yeah; actually that should work just fine Mai."

The four of them get to work in preparing the area. It doesn't take them long to finish.

"Okay, we're all set; now it's just a case of waiting. Rise, you pair up with Mai and keep watch from old living quarters; Kammy, you stick with me, we'll wait in the holding area."

The four of them take up positions.

"How long do you think it'll take for it to show up?"

"Not sure Mai, but I don't think we'll have to wait long for something to turn up. The local yoma doubtless know something happened around here by now; and I'll bet they'll investigate soon."

The four of them lie in wait. After a little while a fox approaches some of the bait.

"Oi! We're after bigger game than you! Scram!"

Kammy pelts it with snowballs, causing it to flee.

"At least it wasn't wolves or a bear, it would've taken more than snowballs to get rid of those."

"Hmm…now that you mention it Lena, I'm kind of surprised that fox is all we've seen."

"That's actually a good sign; bears and wolves are normally the top predators in a given stretch of wilderness; but they'll give yoma a wide berth; and I'm pretty sure they'd afford a fearsome beastie of a Barioth's calibre the same sort of courtesy."

"Then why did our bushy tailed friend show up?"

"Foxes are both smart and perceptive; they know yoma won't view them as competition or food, and they'd be able to keep a low enough profile not to catch the attention of something like a Barioth. On top of that they'd be able to scavenge on the left overs."

They wait a little longer.

"…You know, I'm not sure I've the patience for this kind of hunting. Our remit's normally search and destroy."

"…."

"Lena?"

"Quiet. And keep your yoki suppressed. I think I can feel something approaching."

Lena signals to Rise and Mai that something is approaching. Rise gives a gesture of acknowledgement.

"…Oh yeah, I can feel it now. That's yoki alright."

"...One, two, three, four…four of them. From the east…"

After a few moments a group of four individuals comes into view. They appear to be human, and are carrying the equipment and wearing the attire of trappers. They stop a short distance from the outpost and start to talk amongst themselves.

"Is this the place?"

"Yeah, this is where Sully had holed up; and by the sounds of things where he bought the farm as well."

"It looks in pretty good nick for a derelict outpost."

"Doesn't look all that derelict to me; in fact I think there's a couple a sentries about."

"Is your eyesight going or have you just got shit for brains? Look a little closer."

"…Armoured snowmen. Very funny."

"So why are they there? Who do you think set them up?"

"Maybe they're Sully's idea of a joke? He always did have a pretty weird sense of humour."

"Nah, I think we might have some company; and what do you make of that scent?"

"Sniff…hmm…I think that's venison, but it smells like it's been hanging for quite a while. I guess someone likes their meat real gamey."

"Either that or its bait; I think it's a little too far gone for human pallets, but the wildlife wouldn't let something like that go to waste."

"Whatcha reckon then?"

"Smart money's on bandits; regular old hunters wouldn't have a reason to put up decoys."

"I did hear something about a buncha lowlifes causing trouble around these parts; but somebody was supposed to have picked up the bounty on them a couple of days back."

"Maybe they didn't whack all of them; most bandit bounties don't specify much beyond bagging the head honcho's and bringing back some kind of proof that you done a proper number on their operations."

"Sounds like leftovers then. Still, this place might be pretty handy in the long run, so I think it'll be worth our while to make it ours."

"How're we gonna do this then? I'll bet they're expecting trouble and twitchy as hell; so I don't think this trapper farce is gonna help us much."

"I don't think they're gonna be our biggest problem though; Sully could've torn through a whole gang of bandits without pausing for breath, so something else must've done him in."

"You reckon the organisation did a hit on him?"

"This place would've been a pile of rubble of that'd happened. I couldn't get any reliable information, but; there's a rumour going round that there's something out in the wild that's been preying on yoma."

"Bollocks."

"Normally I'd agree with you; but the facts still remain; we've not only had several disappearances; but somehow Sully got killed without having a chance to fight back."

"First things first; I say we clear this place out. There might be a few clues as to what actually went down. Besides, it's been a while since I last ate."

"I'm with ya; bandits might not be what you'd call a delicacy, but hunger's always a good seasoning."

"Just watch out for traps; even a rank amateur could hide something in the snow. I suggest we stay off the ground."

There's a sound similar to joints popping as the physical forms of the trappers start to distort. Their skin changes to a shade of purple, and their teeth twist into large fangs. Claws emerge from the tips of their fingers, and the shoes of one them burst apart. The rest of them laugh at him.

"Take your shoes off next time you dozy pillock!"

"Bastards; it's not my fault my hands and feet always shift together."

The four yoma proceed to make huge leaps from where they are; one of each landing on the roofs of the two intact buildings and two of them on the side of the tower. A moment later Rise's lance bursts through the roof of the living quarters, neatly decapitating the yoma before it can react.

"Shit! What the hell was that?"

"They saw us coming! Get to ground! They won't have trapped the yard."

The two yoma on the tower side drop down into yard between the buildings, and position themselves back to back. The remaining yoma on the roof of the holding facility drops down and presses itself against the wall of the building. The front door of said building swings open and Lena walks out.

"Only small fry; what shame. It's hard to get job satisfaction when the challenge is so meagre."

The two yoma in the yard charge at her, but she rushes towards them herself. She unsheathes her greatsword; bisecting one of the yoma with a single downward swing. The other attempts to strike at her side, but the fingers of her free hand suddenly extend, piercing his forehead, throat, heart and abdomen. He twitches briefly before Lena retracts her fingers and his body slumps to the ground. The last yoma scuttles away past the side of holding facility and over the wall, fleeing in terror.

"Oh fuck this; I'm outta here!"

Kammy makes her way out of the holding facility.

"Oi, Lena; you could've saved something for me."

"I have Kammy; he's in the process of scarpering. If the traps don't get him just follow the yellow trail in the snow."

"Well, he won't get far-"

The conversation is interrupted by a brief scream from the fleeing yoma.

"Oh. He didn't. His yoki just disappeared."

"It's here; quickly, back inside!"

Kammy and Lena hurry back into the building. Kammy makes her way to small, barred window on the other side of the building.

"See anything?"

"Oh yeah; I see it alright. That's the demon snow cat in the flesh."

Lena takes a look out of the window as well.

"Hoo boy; now that's one big kitty."

The two of them briefly view the scene; the creature slightly resembles a white sabre tooth tiger, but in term of size its body alone is over ten metres in length; and has long tail at least the same again. The tail itself is at least as wide as the average human torso, covered in scales, and has several sharp protrusions around the tip. The scales continue all the way up its back in a stripe, all the way to its head, but the rest of its body is covered in snow white fur. Its forearms are quite different from those of a typical big cat though, the sides of them being studded with sharp, thorn like protrusion; and large membranes of skin stretch between the arms and the body; forming wings. The beast then throws its head back, tearing away one of the now deceased yoma's arms and flinging it up into the air; it then catches the limb in its mouth, revealing amber tusks the size of a grown man's arm. It briefly chews on the limb, but then glares in the direction of the outpost with seemingly glowing blue eyes.

"Oh shit…"

The beast turns to face the outpost, and then leaps straight up, disappearing from view. They wait a few moments.

"Knackers; I guess it got away."

"Well, look on the bright side Kammy; this whole operation has been extremely productive. Four dead yoma's not a bad result in its own right, but we can confirm that not only are there Barioth out there, but they also kill and eat yoma as well. All in all that's a pretty big success-"

Something very large smashes into the roof the holding facility, causing it to deform heavily. A low growl can be heard through the roof.

"That's assuming we live to tell the tale Lena!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

* * *

"Rise! Mai! We got contact!"

The Barioth lets out another growl; a split second later its tail smashes through the roof, narrowly missing Kammy. She reacts in time to unsheathe her swords and slashes at the tail; the blades make contact, but only leave shallow cuts in the outer scales; not being enough to even draw blood.

"Bad news, that tail's seriously tough; it felt like trying to chop through a tree trunk."

"Looks like we're just going to have to find some softer areas to go for then."

The tail smashes through the roof again, leaving another hole.

"Staying here isn't going to help us; we aren't going to get good shot at any of its vulnerable areas with the roof in the way."

The Barioth lets out an annoyed sounding roar, and the structure groans as it leaps away. Kammy and Lena rush out of the building to see what's going on. They're greeted with the sight of a now paint splattered Barioth skidding to a halt in the yard, its claws digging into the ground. A moment later Rise pops out of a patch of snow just off to the side of where it first made contact with the ground; she hits it in the face with another paintball. The Barioth starts rubbing its face in the snow; trying to get the paint off.

"Mai! I'll keep it distracted; you try to strike at its back when you see an opening!"

Rise charges head on towards the Barioth as it raises its head out of snow. Her lance connects perfectly between its eyes, but for all the force of the strike it's not very effective; only causing a shallow wound before sliding across the top of its head. The beast makes a counter attack; Rise managed to block the attempted bite with her shield, but she's tossed backwards from the power of the attack. As she steadies herself the Barioth lets out a roar, blasting her with chilled air and coating her with snow.

"Oh great, it can turn us into instant snowmen. Just marvellous."

Rise quickly breaks out of the snow in a small show of brute strength.

"Sorry to bust your bubble kitty; but it'll take more than that to put us on ice!"

The Barioth tries to pounce on her; she responds by quickly dashing under it, followed by trying to stab it in its hindquarters. Once again the wound is extremely shallow, leaving only a small red patch on its fur. This does seem to hurt the creature though, as it flinches before quickly shuffling forward.

"Heh, seems a sharp object up the jacksie's universally nasty. Looks like we might've found a weak point; aim for the arse!"

The Barioth spins around to confront Rise, now clearly considerably angrier than before. Kammy and Lena attempt to flank it, but it knocks them back with its tail. It then lets out a deafening roar and its eyes turn red. Such a loud noise at close range is enough to cause Rise to have to clutch her ears; and the Barioth takes full advantage, slamming a paw down on top of her and pinning her to the ground. She jabs at its face with her lance to keep if from biting her.

"Let; her; go!"

All the other warriors feel a strong pulse as Mai releases a considerable surge of yoki before charging the Barioth from the side. She hacks down on the foreleg pinning Rise; her axe tears through the chitin layer of the limb, shattering some of the thorny protrusions and leaving a deep wound. The Barioth rears up in pain and attempts to bring its other foreleg down on her, but she manages to dodge; Rise takes the opportunity to get back to her feet.

"Good work Mai!"

"Not all good. That sort of a blow would've normally shattered a stone block, but I didn't manage to cause a break. That thing has flesh and bones much stronger than a regular yoma."

The Barioth leaps to the side to avoid being surrounded; it glares at the four warriors, fury in its eyes.

"So; how do we win?"

"I've faced a couple of super tough yoma in the past Kammy; and I'm pretty sure between us we've got the means. As for exactly what it'll take; if we get the chance we hit it in its vitals."

"And if we don't Lena?"

"Then it's going to be slow and nasty; we'll have to bleed the fucker out before we run out of steam."

"That suits me just fine; I might not have some of the killer moves of my peers, but when it comes to the long haul I'm hard to beat."

"Don't forget that you and Mai can't regenerate the way I and Rise can; so make damn sure you back off if you start flagging."

Kammy releases a substantial surge of yoki, lighting up the surroundings and turning her eyes golden. She then tenses her limbs; the muscle definition on all of them noticeably increasing. She then starts to run at a considerable pace, circling the Barioth; the creature tries to keep up with her, but can't quite turn fast enough, and the motion seems to be agitating its wounded foreleg.

"Now!"

As the Barioth turns to face away from the rest of the warriors; Kammy makes a charge directly at its head, getting its full attention. She slashes at its face, narrowly missing its eyes; before vaulting over its head and landing on its back. At the same Lena rushes it from the side, bringing her greatsword down on the already damaged foreleg; shattering the remains of the chitin layer and knocking the Barioth to the ground.

"Mai! The tail! Give it everything you've got!"

"If I go all out Rise, you know the axe isn't going to survive the impact unless I cut right through."

"You've got your claymore as backup; and Mickel did say he wanted a thorough test."

"Okay then; here goes nothing!"

Mai drops down into a crouch; her eyes turn golden and here teeth elongate into fangs as she releases her yoki. A moment later she seems to develop a glowing aura, casting bright light on the surroundings. The aura then intensifies to a dazzling brightness and a shockwave blasts away the snow around her. She then stamps on the ground, breaking the stone beneath her feet and giving her leverage. Kammy and Lena can't help but be shocked at the sheer magnitude of her Yoki.

"Kammy! Get clear! I'm not going to have much control!"

"You don't have to tell me twice Mai!"

Kammy leaps off the back of the Barioth and presses herself flat on the snow. Lena does the same; while Rise braces herself with her shield up.

"Eat this!"

The first thing all the rest of the warriors are aware of it their ears popping due to a sudden change in air pressure. The next thing they see is the Barioth being hurled a clear twenty feet into the air by some kind of enormous impact. The creature smashes into the side of the already unstable tower, causing it to collapse. A moment later the severed tail of the beast crashes through the damaged roof of the holding facility.

"Yes! Result! Nice work Mai!...Mai?"

The three remaining warriors glace at the now ruined tower and can't see any movement from it; they then turn their eyes to other effects of Mai's attack. There's a long trench in the snow running in a straight line, ending at the perimeter wall. There's now a new breach in the wall, and the trench in the snow changes to a series of small craters.

"Oh shit…please tell me you're okay Mai…"

Rise hurries over to the break in the wall and inspects the site beyond.

"Mai! Where are you? Mai!"

A moment later a hand pops out of the most distant crater; although on closer inspection some of the fingers on said hand seem to be pointing in the wrong direction, indicating they're badly dislocated. Rise hurries over.

"Mai; are you okay?"

"Sorry; I overcooked it. My body couldn't quite handle the strain."

Rise glances down at Mai's legs; her uniform seems to have burst apart under the strain; both are now heavily discoloured with extensive bruising, and one of her knees is dislocated.

"Rise, I'm not going to be able to heal from this until the joints have been put right."

"In that case you'd best chug this."

Rise hands Mai a bottle; she quickly gulps down the contents. A moment later her body starts to feel numb. Rise then twists her leg back into position, and does the same for her fingers. Mai tries to get back up, but quickly falls flat on her backside.

"Easy; your muscles and tendons are still a mess. Just concentrate your yoki into healing the affected areas."

"Oh, did that attack do the trick?"

"It took the tail off, and smashed the thing through the tower. With any luck that might've been enough to finish the job."

"I hope so; I don't think I'll be able to pull that looney stunt again for at least a few days; my whole body's tingling all over."

Kammy and Lena join them.

"Well Mai, even amongst the single digit warriors; I've never seen an attack quite like that before."

"It still needs a hell of a lot of work though. The raw power might be there, but everything else about it is sorely lacking."

"Particularly in the self-preservation department; that looked…painful."

"Rise's potion took the edge off it; but I'm still going to be out of the fight for the next few minutes, so you'd better make sure that Barioth's staying down."

"You got it Mai."

Kammy, Lena and Rise make their way towards the now ruined tower.

"Huh? Where'd it go?"

"It hit the tower about halfway up Kammy. It's probably buried under the rubble."

"Figures; but why'd you tell Mai to go for the tail? If she'd landed a hit with that attack on the head or body it'd be dead for sure."

"Mai would've have survived the impact; hitting that thing in its centre of mass would've meant she'd take the recoil in full, and it would've pulped her internal organs."

Lena suddenly stops.

"Wait; do you feel that?"

"Feel what Lena? Oh…what the hell is that?"

"Yoki…but it doesn't feel like a yoma or another warrior Kammy…where's it coming from?"

"…Under the rubble Lena."

"That's not good."

"It had been eating yoma flesh; it might just be a passive reaction."

"Even so Rise; we're in unknown territory here. I want the two of you to spread out; form a triangle formation with me around the tower."

The three of them spread out their positions and surround the wreckage of the tower. As they do some of the rubble starts to shift.

"So it's not finished after all. Get ready."

More of the rubble tumbles away as the Barioth rises back to its feet. It's clearly suffered a number of further injuries from having the tower collapse on it; one of its tusks has broken away, and one of its wing membranes has been torn to shreds. Its formerly white fur is now covered with patches of red, and a small trickle of blood seems to leaving its mouth.

"It's not gonna be flying out of here; so I think we're gonna have to be prepared for a fight to the death."

"Aren't we always Kammy?"

"Fair point Lena; fair point. Still, how're we gonna handle this? Do we go in for the kill; or do we hang back and wait for it to bleed out?"

The Barioth collapses and its eyes close. A moment later they snap open again, but they're now golden. The creature rises back to its feet, now apparently unfazed by its injuries, although the bleeding from its wounds becomes noticeable more profuse."

"Oh fuck; it's about to go into a death frenzy. It'll bleed out soon, but it'll fight like a demon until its heart stops; so get ready for one hell of a ride."

"You've seen this before Rise?"

"Yeah, it happened with some of the early experimental warriors."

The Barioth lets out roar, accompanied by small shockwave as it releases a surge of yoki.

"If past experience is anything to go by its unlikely it'll be able to feel pain now; so unless you can open up a major artery, sever a major nerve, take out its eyes, or inflict some serious head trauma; our attacks are going to be pretty ineffective."

"So, basically we just concentrate on staying alive."

"That's about the size of it. We need to keep it away from Mai though."

"No sweat; if it wants to make its last dance a furious one, then I'll be happy to indulge it."

Kammy charges the Barioth and brings both of her swords down on its good foreleg; they cause a shallow wound, but the Barioth just glares at her before slamming said foreleg into her, knocking her into the air. She manages to right herself in flight and lands on her feet.

"Urgh, it still packs a punch-"

The Barioth lunges towards her before she can react; aiming to bite her head off. Rise intercepts it, slamming her shield into its face; she's pushed backward by the force of the charge though, her feet leaving furrows in the snow and earth. A moment later Lena lands on it and tries to drive her greatsword through its back with the intent of severing its spinal cord; unfortunately the sheer toughness of its bones proves sufficient to stop the blade from piercing deep enough to do the job.

"I've got an idea; try and hack at the wound where its tail was; I reckon it should increase the rate of blood loss."

"Got you Rise."

Kammy quickly dashes around behind the Barioth while it's distracted trying to get Lena off its back. It successfully bucks her off; but it can't capitalise as Rise smashes it in the face with her shield, breaking its remaining tusk and momentarily stunning it. Kammy rapidly hacks at the stump of its tail, tearing it open and leaving a severely bleeding wound.

"Yes! I think we're gonna make it."

"Don't celebrate too early Kammy; one good chomp from those jaws could still be enough to take your head off."

The Barioth sways for a moment, feeling the effects of its blood loss. It then rights itself and glares in the direction of Mai."

"No! We can't let it get to her!"

Rise tries to block its path; her lance connects between its shoulder and neck, and thanks to force behind its own charge it pierces the flesh, sinking in about half a meter. Unfortunately the Barioth doesn't even seem to notice, and Rise has the lance torn from her grasp before being unceremoniously trampled by the creature. Despite this she still manages strike the knee of one of its hind legs with her shield, forcing it to stumble and momentarily stopping its progress.

Kammy exploits this window of opportunity to quickly jump onto its back and stab at it repeatedly. Unfortunately it doesn't even seem to notice her attacks, and keeps accelerating towards Mai. Lena attempts to outrun the creature to give Mai some defence.

"Shit! I'm not going to make it! Mai! You need to get away!"

At that moment a loud crack cuts through the air; the Barioth's head jerks backwards and it stops its charge. The creature lets out a gurgling noise, and staggers slightly to the side; a moment later something inside its head explodes, blowing out the back of its skull and sending a burst of flame out of its mouth. The beast then crashes to the ground, stone dead.

"Kammy…how'd you make its head explode? I though you said you didn't have any killer moves?"

"That wasn't me Lena."

They notice something sticking out of a nearby snowdrift; it appears to be some kind of long metal tube, with smoke curling out of it. A moment later the snowdrift shifts, revealing it to in fact be someone dressed in white camouflage.

"Bloody hell; you ladies picked one hell of a nasty piece of work to go after. I know it's rude to interfere with someone else's hunt, but personally I reckon making sure everyone gets home alive takes precedence over etiquette."

"…Is that you Saul?"

"It is indeed Lena. Nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you as well."

Lena glances at Saul's weapon.

"So; just what exactly is that?"

"This? A heavy bowgun; luckily I'm still a crack shot, and I managed to send a round of crag shot straight into its mouth."

"I take it crag shot has some kind of explosive effect."

"Yep; it's loaded with gunpowder, and set to go off a second or two after it impacts."

Kammy joins the conversation.

"Well it certainly worked; that thing's now missing the back of its head."

"If in doubt; take out the head. I've yet to find anything that tactic doesn't work on."

"So, what brought you out to these parts Saul?"

"Probably something similar to you. I don't doubt you picked up that something strange is afoot, and since it doesn't sound like it's the yoma this time around I figured it'd be prudent to investigate."

"Well so far our investigation's turned up this monstrous kitty; and to complicate matters further this particular one seemed to have developed a taste for yoma flesh."

"Yeah, I noticed something was up; Barioth normally have blues eyes, and they turn red when you piss 'em off; but that's the first time I seen one with golden eyes."

"Hang on a second; you've seen one of these things before?"

"I ain't originally from this land; where I come from the snowy wilds are pretty much an established Barioth habitat."

"…Okay…that's…a bit of bombshell you just dropped Saul; I've spent pretty much my whole life believing there weren't any major land masses beyond this continent."

"Ah, that's a load of bollocks cooked up by the church; and as far as I can gather the organisation pretty much runs with it for the sake of convenience."

"Makes sense Lena; you know as well as I do they never tell us more than they think we need to know."

"I think we need to keep quiet about this all the same though Kammy; and likewise Saul; be careful who you say that to; there's more than few people about who won't take kindly to someone messing with the established order of things."

"If the information we've gathered so far is anything to go by the established order's days are numbered. Barioth aren't the only non-native species that's shown up in this land recently; me and the lads were out on a hunt of our own, and we bagged ourselves a bulldrome."

"What's a bulldrome?"

"Looks a bit like a wild boar with oversized tusks; but it probably weighs in at about half the weight of a Barioth."

"Well that's certainly no little piggy."

"Damn good eating though if you know how to cook them."

Rise and Mai join the conversation; Rise appears to be pretty much unharmed despite having been run over by the Barioth, with some blemishes to her outfit being the only obvious signs. Mai on the other hand is being carried on Rise's back, and it's pretty clear her legs are some way from recovering, being covered in extensive bruising.

"Heya Saul; nice to see you again, and thanks for the save."

"No sweat, you ladies already did the hard work; it would've probably bled out in another minute."

"That would've been more than enough time for it turn me into a chew toy."

"Uh, are you okay? Your legs look a bit…"

"I overdid a bit earlier and put my knee out; Rise's already put it right though, so now it's a case of letting it heal."

"So then, I take it you two know each other?"

"Yeah Lena, I first met Saul a few years back."

"Perhaps we'd best save that particular tale for later; we've got a mess to clear up here, and doubtless our handlers are gonna give us the third degree."

"Ah, of course; and Dea'll be wanting to get his hands on the remains."

"Aw bugger; we could've repurposed that Barioth's body parts into some pretty nifty gear, but since it was your hunt you get dibs on what you do with it."

"Maybe next time Saul."

"No worries; the bulldrome'll do for our purposes, and we had another stroke of luck while we were out. We found the Barioth nesting grounds, and they're well away from any settlements, so it looks like we won't need to take any further action; well, aside from putting down the odd rogue beast like the one you girls just dealt with."

"I suspect that one was probably driven away from the main habitat by the others anyway; feeding on yoma flesh would doubtless give rise to some abnormal behaviour that its fellow creatures would find troublesome."

"Are there any accounts of anything like this happening in the past Rise?"

"Yeah Lena, but it's pretty rare. Sometimes scavengers will feed on yoma remains; but small quantities won't have any discernible effect. If something manages to consume enough over a short enough space of time though, then it will undergo certain changes; namely increased aggression, slightly enhanced physical capabilities and cannibalistic tendencies. Thankfully such creatures also tend to have a greatly reduced lifespan though, as the uncoordinated fusing of yoma tissues with their bodies generally has significant complications; which eventually prove fatal."

"Uh, I think we might have a rather large problem coming our way then; and one that's unfortunately gonna require a coordinated effort."

"What are you getting at Saul?"

"Think about it Rise; scavengers occasionally get to feed on the leftovers of your yoma exterminations, and that still provides enough yoma meat for them turn nasty occasionally. Now consider something like a Barioth; a creature capable of actively preying on yoma. They don't need you to provide the opportunity; they can make their own kills, so what do you reckon the chances are of them being able to wolf down enough yoma meat to turn into a golden eyed horror show?"

"…I'd have to say high enough to demand some kind of intervention to prevent it from happening."

"Then we've got another problem Lena; the organisation isn't exactly in the habit of cooperating with external agencies; and has always insisted on a policy of absolute secrecy when it comes to information."

"Not gonna be a problem; it'll be far from the first time The Flag's had to work with an uncooperative party. At the end of day it'd not like they can stop us from gathering info on the ground either."

"I think I see what you're getting at Saul; you cover your side of problem, and we'll cover ours. I might as well act as kind of go between if that ends up being the case."

"Do you think the management will be okay with that Rise?"

"As far as I'm concerned Lena, if the management have a problem they can kiss my arse. They made me a warrior to protect the people of this land from yoma predation, and that's what I'm going to do; and if something out there ends up taking on yoma characteristics by feeding on them, then I've got a duty to deal with that as well."

"Well, I guess as long as they don't know you aren't gonna have a problem."

"Even then, if you're providing them with good enough information I'd wager they'd view you as too valuable to take punitive action against."

"It'll still be worth having an escape plan of some kind though, and the same goes for the rest of us; the situation we're facing now is unprecedented in the history of the organisation, so I can't really predict how they'll handle it."

"Figuring those details out will have to wait though; we're gonna have to get ourselves back home, and drag as much of that Barioth as we can with us."

At that point a light snoring noise starts to emanate from Mai.

"Aw crap, she's gone and passed out on us."

"Hey Saul, could we ask a favour?"

"Sure, I still owe you a few Rise."

"Great; could you take Mai back to The Flag for us? We're going to have to haul that carcass back to town; and to be blunt Mai's currently in no fit state to exert herself at the moment. I think the rest of us should be able to manage, but we won't be able to carry Mai as well."

"No problems; Mickle was looking forward to showing her around the forge properly anyway."

"Cheers."

Rise gives Mai a brief jostle to wake her up.

"…huh…oh, sorry; I didn't mean to fall asleep…"

"Don't worry about it Mai; listen, we're going to have to get the remains of that Barioth back to town, but since you've already pushed yourself too far you're going to go back to The Flag with Saul and rest up."

"…Um…is that okay with everyone?"

"Yeah, it's fine; you just concentrate on getting your strength back."

Rise passes Mai over to Saul.

"Right, the rest of the lads aren't far from here; we've got a proper sled set up so it won't be problem to just pop you on it and give you ride back to town."

"Thanks; catch you all later!"

Saul heads away from the rest of the group with Mai on his back.

"A proper sled he says? Maybe we should bring something like that with us if we find ourselves having to do something like this again."

"I'm with you there Kammy; it's not that far to town, but that Barioth still looks pretty heavy."

"It's probably not quite as bad as it looks; don't forget that it was able to fly."

"Fair point Rise; now, how're we going to do this?"

"I'll disarm those net traps I set up and we can repurpose them in order to tow it. If we use some of the wood from the smashed roof we can probably make some kind of sled with it as well."

The girls get to work; it doesn't take them long to cobble together a makeshift sled and harness around the Barioth.

"Right, looks like we're sorted then…and…heave!"

"We have movement Lena!"

"Good, looks like it works; and it's pretty much downhill all the way back to town as well."

"…We; might have another problem. Half the town's gonna get a good look at this thing when we get back."

"I wouldn't worry about that Kammy; most people are too afraid of us to ask questions. They'll probably just assume it's some kind of large yoma corpse."

"Speaking of which; are we gonna have room at the lodgings to stash this guy?"

"There's a part that was originally used to store carts; I reckon it should fit in there."

"…."

"You okay Rise?"

"Yeah, just thinking about what to do next. How much info do you have regarding recent yoma activity in the area Lena?"

"The bare bones Rise; even as a single digit they still don't tell me much beyond my own personal remit."

"My last few jobs have been around these parts, so I can tell you roughly where to expect trouble if that's what you want to know."

"Thanks Kammy; with any luck I won't need anything specific for the time being. If I can put together a rough picture of the general areas of yoma activity; I should be able to compare those with the areas of odd occurrences that The Flag have been studying."

"I take it you're gonna use that info to make sure The Flag's research parties don't blunder into any areas of yoma territory then?"

"Not just that Kammy; the overlapping areas will indicate places where there's the possibility that an extremely powerful creature akin to a barioth could have the opportunity to prey on yoma."

"I see, those would be the places where we'd need to provide some kind of intervention to prevent altered creatures from arising."

"Then I guess we should figure out a way of convincing the management those particular locations are hotspots for yoma trouble. That way they should make exterminations in those areas a priority."

"Easier said than done mind; although I reckon Dea'll be wanting more samples after he gets his hands on this one, so with any luck he'll push for assignments in the right places."

"I guess we'll just have to wait for their initial reaction before we can lay down any firm plans."

"Um, is Mai gonna be okay? The amount of yoki she used during that attack of hers; that'd have been more than enough to take most warriors far past the point of no return."

"As long as she rests up for next few days she'll be fine Kammy."

"…You know, I can't help but wonder why she's been placed on active service Rise. Realistically speaking she's too young to have completed her basic training. Given her potential it simply doesn't make sense to send her into action."

"I'm not completely sure Lena, but I think it's down to Alicia and Beth."

"Huh? Why would those two have anything to with her?"

"You know what I said about experimental warriors? Alicia and Beth also fall into that category; but while Mai's still largely unknown potential, those two have already proven to be a clear success; so I suspect that the resources that would originally have been committed to Mai have been transferred to improving them as much as possible."

"The number one and two of this generation; they're almost total enigmas as well. The management seem to keep them isolated from the rest of us."

"I've managed to find out a couple of things about them though; they're identical twins to start with."

"…Hang on. I remember hearing something about some kind of experiment involving warriors that were sisters in the past; and didn't it go horribly wrong or something?"

"That it did Kammy. I had the misfortune of being there when it happened as well. I suspect that experiment has been repeated with Alicia and Beth, but was successful in their case."

"Just what exactly was this experiment Rise?"

"I've never been able to find out the exact details, but it seemed to be some kind of yoki synchronisation procedure. I think the idea was to allow a warrior to go past their normal limits, but either not awaken, or return from an awakened state by being pulled back by their partner."

"So what happened?"

"It failed. Catastrophically. The end result was the death of about half of that entire generation of warriors, and the birth of the third abyssal one. I only survived because I realised everything was about to go pear shaped a few seconds before it did; and I had the great idea of hiding in a nearby hole, followed by head butting the rocky ground and playing dead."

"So you did nothing to help then?"

"There was nothing I could have done. The Yoki spike when she awakened exceeded that of every warrior we had present put together. Those that tried to intervene died; those that ran were branded as deserters by the organisation and hunted down. The few of us fortunate enough to either be merely incapacitated by the initial shockwave, or smart enough to pretend to be out of action were the only survivors."

"Now I think I understand how you've managed to survive so long Rise."

"Yeah; it's nothing to be proud of, but it works. I wouldn't call cowardice a virtue, but you if you keep survival a higher priority than success, you'll live longer; and achieve a good deal more in the long run. Don't think I haven't got your backs though; when I say survival, I don't just mean my own; and I certainly won't sacrifice a team mate for the sake of the mission."

* * *

Meanwhile back with Saul…

"Hey boss; where did you run off to?"

"Had a bit of a situation to deal with; it was mostly in hand mind you, but I figured it was better safe than sorry."

"Well give us a little warning next time ya pillock!"

"Come on, it's not like he was gone for long…huh? What's that you've got on your back?"

"Looks like a snow pixie."

"Oi; show some bloody respect! This here lassie's a Claymore."

"Then why're you giving her a piggy back?"

"Cos' the poor girl just went all out on a beastie way stronger than we just had to deal with; and she's all tuckered out."

"Then why-"

"Save the rest of your questions for later. We still need to get back to The Flag; and the sled isn't gonna pull itself."

"Fair enough; you're the boss."

Saul makes his way over to the sled. It's currently occupied by the body of a bulldrome, but the sled appears to have been designed with larger things in mind, so it still has plenty of room on it. Saul gently places a sleeping Mai on the sled."

"Heh, she didn't even stir. She must've really gone for it."

"Hey, wait a second; wasn't she about last night?"

"Yeah, she ended up giving Mickel a hand at the forge. Caused quite a stir as well; nobody was expecting someone as small as her to haul around a piece of machinery that by all rights should've taken several grown men to handle."

"I guess it's true what they say about them then."

"Not much of it I'll have you know. There's an awful lot of bullshit rumours that go around regarding the Claymores, so if I were you I wouldn't believe anything you hear unless it comes from one of them. That's especially true if it comes from one of those ecclesiastical bastards."

"Oh aye, I get you; I've had a run in with them already. They're running the show down in Rabona; and don't like even the slightest suggestion of anyone other than them having a say in anything. I don't envy Hodges' position right now, cos' I'd be willing to bet they're gonna stick their oar in at the first chance they get."

"Hodges'll manage; he's always had a talent for negotiations. Besides which, knowing how much the priesthood like their tipple, the prospect of a new drinking den might go down rather well with them."

The group get the sled moving.

"Nice to find she hasn't made the thing noticeably heavier."

"Have you taken a proper look at her? She certainly looks like a snow pixie; and an underfed one at that. We should get Gaston to rustle her up something hearty as soon as we get back."

"Well we've certainly been on the right hunt for that; you can't get much heartier than bully bacon."

"Huff…this thing's still pretty heavy mind; and why didn't we bring some sled dogs with us?"

"The same reason we didn't bring a dog to help with the tracking; dogs ain't that stupid. They'd realise pretty soon something a heck of a lot bigger and fiercer than them was about, and wouldn't be keen on sticking around to find out the finer details."

"This isn't how it works back on the mainland."

"That's because the guild's fully established there. They basically manage most of the hunting that goes on; they do the recon and provide us with some basic supplies; we handle the actual hunt itself; and then they send out a retrieval team to collect the beast. After all that we get a handful of choice carves and some hard cash for our work."

"Whilst over here the guild hasn't been established; so The Flag has to handle everything, and it's not like we've got the resources for a dedicated retrieval team yet. Besides, for the last few years The Flag's main operation has been fact finding and research; this is probably one of the first real hunts we've had to handle."

"So what do we get for our hard work then?"

"Better pay; and while we'll be having to put most of the best material cuts off this fellah on the next ship back to the guild, once they've had a good look at them they'll doubtless be able to send us a grant, some of which ought to find its way into your pockets."

"We'd better get a move on; the cold's gonna help preserve that bulldrome, but once the scent of a fresh kill carries on the wind it'll attract unwelcome company."

"At least there aren't any Melynxs about; I've lost count of the number of times I've had to plant my boot up their furry arses for trying to nick my stuff."

"Speaking of which, how'd you reckon the locals are gonna react to seeing a Feylne for the first time?"

"We'll have to handle that carefully when it comes down to it. Years of troubles with yoma have made the people round these parts pretty wary of anything unusual; although given that feylnes are generally quite a bit smaller than humans, and don't exactly look all that threatening, I doubt they'd mistake them for yoma."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

* * *

A little while later, somewhere in the depths of The Flag; Katrina, Leona and Mickle examine the bulldrome carcass. Katrina closely inspects the tusks, and gives the sides of the body a few nudges.

"So then Katrina; do you reckon this is our kind of work, or just a boar with gigantism?"

"It's pretty safe to say this here porker's a bulldrome Leona; those tusks are something regular old piggies can't even come close to packing."

"…Something's a bit off mind; I've worked with more than me fair share of bulldrome parts before and somethings; well, kind of different about this one."

"It's probably a new sub species Mickel. The ones that roam the misty peaks around Yukumo are pretty renown for having short, dark, bristly fur and pot bellies; while those native to Pokke have got long, paler coats and tend to have their body fat more evenly distributed."

"I get where you're coming from Katrina. Now that you mention it the tusks are a bit of a different shape, and it's got longer legs than either the Yukumo or Pokke breeds."

"Given that most of the flora and fauna of this land pretty different from those on the other side of the ocean, it's probably adapted to cater for those differences."

"Credit where credit's due to whoever brought it down though; the body's almost completely intact. All of the damage was done precisely to its vitals; I haven't seen marksmanship like this since Saul retired."

"That's no coincidence Leona; that is Saul's handiwork. He's decided to pull his hunting boots back on again."

"…."

"What's wrong?"

"…I should be happy for him really…but…there's something sad about a hunter who just can't let go Mickel."

"Thinking about Old Man Vangis?"

"A little. I've yet to meet anyone quite as batshit insane as grandpa though."

"Well don't worry so much about Saul. He's got some of the same fire; hell, after what he went through during the Dire Miralis incident we didn't think he'd ever walk again let alone return to the hunt; but I can tell he's still pretty set on living."

At that point Saul interrupts the conversation.

"Too bloody right. I ain't planning on dying any time soon; my bucket list's a long way from complete."

"Sigh; so, be honest with me; how well did you hold up out there?"

"…The cold makes the old injuries sting a bit, but I'm pretty sure I'm getting back on form Katrina."

"That's good to hear, but please don't take things too quickly."

"Heh, Manny said the same thing; but it sounds a lot more convincing coming from you."

"Don't tell Manny's planning on getting back out there as well?"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure he's happy with what he's doing now. Besides, he's always been a social creature; his gig of choice was arena work."

"We're pretty far from being at the stage where we can even think about setting up an arena in terms of our finances though. If Hodges can work some haggling magic down in Rabona we might be in a position to get a second branch of The Flag up and running, but without a grant from the guild that's about as much as we can manage."

"That said I reckon sending them some choice cuts off that bulldrome along with a write up of all our findings so far ought to be enough to convince them to improve our cashflow situation."

"That ain't gonna leave anything left on it that I could make use of in the forge though."

"Bad luck this time Mickle; I'm sure you'll get to work your magic after the next hunt though."

"I guess this time it's gonna be Gaston's turn shine."

"Ah, do I hear my name being called?"

The new voice belongs to what initially appears to be an oversized housecat balancing on its back legs and wearing a chef's hat and apron. On closer inspection its gait suggests its naturally bipedal, and it clearly has a considerably more substantial musculature than a domestic feline. It has an interesting almost leopard like coat, but with a more vivid shade of yellow, and large, very circular black spots; giving a faint suggestion of swiss cheese. It also sports a spectacular upturned handlebar moustache, reminiscent of that once displayed by Salvador Dali.

"Well, well; for all that this land has offered me many new challenges in the fields of culinary exploration, it would seem you have found me some familiar territory; although I must admit this does appear to be a truly fine specimen."

"So, what have you got in mind?"

"Many things Leona, but perhaps we could narrow down the selection by establishing your preferred form of gastronomic artistry."

"You make it sound like you're planning something that'd belong in a gallery rather than on a dinner plate."

"For the meal to have any true value it must be consumed Katrina; its very transience is an essential aspect of the experience; but moving back to the subject of genre, what best suits your mood? Classical? Surreal? Impressionist?"

"You can do surreal cooking?"

"Absolutely Mickle! While it can be something of an acquired taste, there are many who find delight in having the expectations of their taste buds subverted."

"Best keep it classical this time; it looks like we're gonna have a lot of hungry mouths today."

"Very well Leona, I shall play it safe; the centrepiece of today's feast shall be my famous bully bacon pot roast."

"Can't go wrong with that Gaston."

Gaston snaps his fingers and a number of feylines and humans dressed in chef's attire enter the chamber. They take hold of some chains; which are attached to a trolley that the bulldrome has been placed on; and start to haul it away.

"Oh, don't forget to save the head, trotters, some of the hide, and some of the larger bones. The guild should accept them as proof."

"Don't worry Leona I won't forget; none of those would form a part of the typical recipe either, so expect nothing less than perfection when it's done."

A large vertical door slides open leading to the kitchens, and Gaston and his crew exit the chamber.

"How's our guest doing Katrina?"

"Mai? Last time I checked she was tucked up in one of our guest rooms, sound asleep and cuddling a woolly Zinogre."

"Might as well let her rest until the foods ready then. When's the next ship due?"

"Assuming all's well and good the Argosy's due to make port in the next few days."

"…Hang on a minute; the concealed harbour's in the middle of an ice field! I know the captain's pretty handy at the wheel, but navigating that in a ship the size of the Argosy's not a realistic prospect no matter how skilled the helmsman is. We'd better send out a boat to warn them."

"No need; the Argosy underwent a major retrofit about the same time you retired Saul. It's now got an armoured hull; complete with an icebreaker bow."

"Heh, well I knew the old bugger had a talent for business, but how'd he manage to get the cash together for a job of that scale?"

"A combination of reward money and insurance. I don't know if you remember, but the Argosy made port at Tanzia as Dire Miralis made its attack; and got stuck in without hesitation."

"Ah, so that's why I remember it getting blasted with cannon fire. I always thought I'd imagined that bit."

"By the time everything was over the ship was in a pretty similar state to the port; not quite gone but pretty much every part of it needing repairs."

"I'm still amazed we made it out of that insanity alive Leona."

"We were lucky that time; there were at least two dozen more G ranked hunters about, and two S ranked hunters as well."

"Two? Old Man Vangis is the only one I know of; who's the other?"

"Big Sally; formerly known as Fangster Blue. She was going freelance by then though; had a bit of falling out with them after a few too many of them humiliated themselves by bailing missions after talking big."

"I remember her now; about the same size as Mickel, fond of hammers, and something of a Brachydios specialist."

"Yeah, that's her Katrina. I met up with her briefly before we all set out on this job; she said she had some unfinished business with a mutant Brachydios that'd laid waste to just about everyone else who'd tried their luck with it. She reckoned it'd settled on Ingle Isle, so she'd signed up with the watch team."

"Bloody hell. You only normally end up on the Ingle Isle watch if you've seriously pissed off the guild management. It's the one place where Akantor reliably show up; so nothing even thinks about trying to move in on that patch unless it's pretty bloody certain it mix it up with an Akantor and come out on top."

"Well look at it this way Mickle; she'll have done their morale the world of good. By now I'll bet she's finished her business there though."

"Unless that beastie got the better her Leona."

"Not bloody likely Katrina; if Big Sally had bought the farm it'd be pretty serious news; precisely the sort of thing that'd show up in an update from the guild. I know it's a bit of a morbid habit, but I check the obituaries each time and they've been reassuringly barren since we started out over here."

"Well, I guess no news is good news then. Still, if that's the case the guild should have manpower to spare; so, we might need to make some preparations of our own."

"I get ya Saul, once the goods make it back to the mainland I'll bet there'll be more than a couple of hunters that'll apply to join us."

"Hence why I asked Hodges to scout for property in Rabona Mickel."

"Keeping a low profile's gonna get tougher from here onwards though."

"All the better if you ask me Saul. That senseless war has dragged on for generations; and while I can admire the guild's decision to refuse to pick a side; I feel we should've intervened somehow."

"You think word from the organisation might cause problems back home Leona?"

"We're not outright muscling in on their business Katrina, and much as they have their affiliation, they technically don't call any shots in the war itself; and given that making an enemy of guild could be enough to tip the balance unfavourably I doubt our actions would have any serious repercussions in that respect; as long as we stick to our operational plan."

"I get the impression Rise'll try and smooth things over for us wherever possible anyway; and think we left a pretty good impression on every Claymore we've met with so far as well, so that ought to count for something."

"Speaking of which I'm surprised they haven't dropped by yet Saul."

"Hauling a Barioth's no joke with just three pairs of hands, and chances are they're having to give a report to the organisation as well, so they'll probably be tied up until this evening."

"Well, we ought to at least save them some food then; that aberrant Barioth can't have been easy to take down, and considering some of the lads on your team were rookies I doubt they'd all have come back in good health if you'd had to deal with it."

"I got a bit of a gander at what it was capable of; and to be frank I wouldn't have let a rookie anywhere near it even before it turned nasty. As for after it took its gloves off; I think could've even made your hit list boss."

Leona gives everyone present a wide, and somewhat wild smile.

"Sounds like I might have get my snow shoes dusted off then. This management gig's okay; but you're welcome to call me a hypocrite for what I said earlier Saul; because now I'm spoiling for a rumble with something at the top of the food chain."

* * *

A little while later, back at the organisation lodge, with Kammy, Lena and Rise…

"That went smoother than I expected it to, we got a few funny looks but no awkward questions; in fact, I think some of the people were looking at us in awe rather than the usual fear and revulsion."

"Heh, I think they might have been staring at your tits Lena."

"Really Kammy? I know they're a bit on the large side, but my uniform doesn't usually show them off to any great extent."

"Well let's just say a combination of damp fabric being pulled tight across you, combined with some of the usual physiological effects of cold air on the body resulted in a display that left very little to the imagination."

Lena blushes ever so slightly.

"…Oops; ah well, no point worrying about it now."

"Just make you sure you change into something dry before we head out again."

"Actually, you might want to do that as soon as possible; I've got the feeling Rubel's going to show up soon."

"Rise's got a point; it wouldn't do to give the pint-sized cue ball a free show."

"Fair enough, I'll go and get changed; but the two of you should consider changing your attire as well, your uniforms aren't exactly in pristine condition."

Lena makes her way into an adjoining room to change. Rise looks down at her uniform and notices a few tears here and there, and Kammy notices a large bloodstain around her abdomen.

"Whoa, are you okay Kammy?"

"Fine Rise; that last hit I took struck directly on my stigma so it's to be expected."

"You want me to take a closer look? I mean, it's better safe than sorry when it comes to stitching."

"The stitching's fine; it just cut into the surrounding flesh, that's all."

Rise pulls out a roll of bandages from a nearby storage trunk.

"Best wrap some of these around yourself to be on the safe side; and it wouldn't do to get blood on your clean clothes."

"Thanks…hey, how come you didn't end up with any cuts? You took quite a bit more punishment than I did."

"Remember what I said before about thinking ahead? I'll give you clue…"

Rise pulls her cloak off and passes it to Kammy.

"…Ah, very clever; there's chainmail hidden in the fabric isn't there?"

"Indeed, and not just in the cloak; I've modified most of my uniform."

A tirade of blue language suddenly bursts forth from the next room.

"What's the matter Lena?"

"You're not going to believe this, but none of the spare uniforms are in my size."

"Ah, somebody only packed the standard fit, didn't they? I guess I'm in the same boat then."

"Huh, what are you two talking about?"

"The regular uniform we have is supposed to be a one size fits all item of dress Kammy; but in practice it just isn't. Part of the reason I have a modified uniform in the first place is that I'm too tall for the standard one."

"That explains Rise's situation, but why's it a problem for you Lena?"

"Let's just say it's unacceptably tight across the chest; in fact, I think you're the only one of us it'll fit properly, since it's too big for Mai."

"So, what have we got in terms of clothing options?"

Rise and Kammy investigate the contents of the cupboards and storage trunks.

"Looks like we've got plenty of spare civvy wear; and in a good variety of sizes as well. I guess we're gonna be okay after all."

"This might actually be pretty useful, since we clearly don't have any suitable replacement uniforms the management won't have solid ground to twist their faces if we get ourselves outfitted at The Flag."

"How much would that cost us Rise?"

"Don't worry about expenses, I've already got it covered."

At that moment the sound of the front door of the building unlocking and opening echoes through the room.

"Hey! At least give us a chance to get some clothes on you little bastard!"

The door to the room opens to reveal another Claymore, although she has quite a distinctive appearance with an extremely pronounced musculature, and has two swords sheathed on her back.

"Oi; who're you calling little, ya skinny bint."

"Oh, hi Undine. Sorry about that; I thought Rubel had just got the drop on us."

"No problem Kammy, you probably won't be seeing him for a while anyway; he's been re-assigned to watch number 47."

"Really? I wonder who we'll get instead then…oh, and how come you're here Undine? I thought the management were keeping you close to headquarters?"

"I got a weird job up at the highland forests; you know, the ones that haven't been explored properly."

"Yeah, I know about them; so, what do you mean by weird?"

"I suspect a similar sort of weird to whatever that thing is that you've got stashed in the cart shed Rise."

"Ah; by the looks of things you didn't have any trouble though."

"It wasn't a Yoma, so I figured it wasn't really my business."

"You didn't sense any yoki from it?"

"None whatsoever; and by the sounds of things you seem to know a little more about what's going on than I do, so I hope you'll be polite enough to enlighten me."

"Well, it's not like we've got an awful lot of definitive information; but I'll tell you what we've found out so far."

Kammy, Lena and Rise explain to Undine what happened on their last job, and tell her about the ensuing fight with the Barioth.

"Damn, sounds to me like things are gonna get an awful lot more complicated for us."

"I reckon this is the tip of the iceberg so to speak Undine, but still; if that giant wolf thing you ran into didn't have any yoki, then that probably means it hasn't encountered any yoma, which is good news."

"When I got the job I honestly thought it was a prank; there's never been any reports of yoma activity in that area before, which makes even more sense when you consider there're no settlements anywhere near it."

"Look on the bright side; considering how much of a fight that Barioth put up, if whatever it was that you ran into had turned nasty, the chances are you'd have come off second best."

"Normally I'd consider those fightin' words; but in all fairness, you're probably right Kammy. I even put on a bit of a display releasing my yoki and it wasn't impressed…hang on, what happened to the pixie? Shouldn't she be with you?"

"Mai's recovering in more comfortable surroundings. I know we're not exactly delicate, but the beds in here are crap, and the building doesn't do a great job of keeping the cold out."

"You shouldn't spoil her Rise. She needs to toughen up fast if she's gonna cope."

"It's not like that Undine; she's actually pretty conscientious when it comes to making sure she's putting in her fair share of effort, in fact out of all of us she probably did the most damage to that Barioth. Right now, what's most important is making sure she recovers as fast possible; there's no telling when we're going to have to deal with another weird event; and we need to be in the best shape possible when the time comes."

"Interesting chain of thought you've got Rise; it's at odds with how the organisation tend to handle things, but it does make sense."

"Put it this way; we're the ones who do the dirty work Undine, so if in doubt trust your own judgement over theirs."

"I'll keep that in mind; but don't forget that Rubel's probably the most flexible of our handlers; so, chances are you're gonna have to deal with someone who'll get arsy if don't do things by the book for a while."

"Have you got any idea who's the closest to Pieta right now Undine?"

"Yeah Kammy, Gallatea's got some work not that far from Pieta, so chances are Ermita's gonna show up."

"Shite; he's a slimy little bastard, and real stickler for playing by the rules. He's not quite as bad as Orsay was, but we're definitely going to have to keep up appearances while he's about."

"Orsay…who was he again Rise?"

"He used to be Terresa's handler; he ordered her execution without hesitation as well."

"Nasty piece of work by the sounds of things; and judging from how you're referring to him in past tense I'm guessing he's dead."

"Oh yes Lena. Karma caught up with him. Let's just say he used to do 'recruiting' as well as working as a handler, and he got found out."

"So, Undine, what are your plans now?"

"Plans Kammy? The only real plan I've got is hitting the sack. I've spent the last few days on the move, so I've had bugger all by the way of sleep."

"…Hang on, you travelled all the way by foot?"

Undine gradually removes the armoured parts of her uniform while she talks.

"Didn't have much of a choice; that forest isn't anywhere near any settlements, and there aren't even any major roads nearby, so hitching a ride's out of the question. By the looks of your clothes you three are planning on doing some undercover work though."

"Ah, not exactly; it's more a case of not having any spare uniforms that fit."

"Yawn…ah well, I guess you'll be needing to head out to get hold of some gear to modify them then. You might as well get yourselves sorted out; I can hold the fort while you're gone, and if a handler does show up I'll be able to give them the gist of what's happened; and since it is technically their responsibility to make sure we get replacement uniforms I don't think they'll have any room to gripe about it."

"Cheers Undine. Oh, there's some food in the pantry if you're hungry."

"Thanks, I think sleep comes first though."

Instead of propping herself up against one of her swords Undine slumps onto one of the beds.

"…You weren't joking, these beds are crap."

* * *

The three of them leave Undine to get some rest and head out into Pieta.

"Are we heading straight for The Flag Lena?"

"I think we should take Undine's suggestion to be on the safe side and stop off at a tailor along the way Rise."

"…."

"You okay Kammy?"

"A bit uncomfortable; these clothes are awfully tight around my arms and legs. I don't think whoever made them considered the possibility of a fair maiden packing some serious muscle."

"You think that's bad? I had to wear a corset the last time I went undercover. It could have been worse mind you; I can distort my frame a bit with yoki manipulation."

"That must've been a sight for sore eyes Lena."

"It was pretty funny seeing how many people tripped over the furniture while trying to get an eyeful Kammy, but the best bit was their reaction when I took out the disguised Yoma; fifteen spilt drinks, nine sets of soiled underwear, five swooning episodes, and two marriage proposals."

"Hang on, how'd you manage to sneak your claymore in?"

"I didn't need to; the target was known for being smart rather than powerful, so my bare hands turned out to be all I needed; or to be more precise, it turns out a regular yoma skull comes off second best in a high impact collision with a marble bust."

"Nice that you actually can disguise yourself as a noble lady Lena; the last time I went undercover I had to masquerade as a bloke; although I have to admit, that highwayman outfit did have a certain charm to it."

"I wonder why I've never had any undercover jobs Rise?"

"You've got the sort of physique a girl just doesn't get outside of being some kind of professional warrior Kammy, and you're just that bit too slender, curvaceous and pretty to convincingly pass yourself off as a fellah. Still, I think you would make a pretty good sailor, pirate, bandit or soldier."

"The Yoma prefer easy prey though Rise, and pretty much all of those can put up a fight. Has Mai had any undercover work?"

"No Kammy, she hasn't been in active service for long enough; although we have discussed plans on the off chance such a job turns up."

"Let me guess Rise, she'll play the role of your daughter?"

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up Lena."

"Heh, she'll barely even need to act then. The two of you come across as family even when you're in uniform."

"Hey, hey; you're embarrassing me…"

The three of them stop off at tailor and purchase a variety of clothing materials, before heading over to The Flag. Rise knocks on the door; there's a muffled yawn from the other side before the observation slit slides open.

"Uhhh…Hi Rise; much as I'd like to I can't just let you in straight away; the boss'll have me bollocks for a bow tie if I don't do this properly.

"What's the problem this time Gillespie? Let me guess, you lost a bet at a dockside bar and had to fellate a monkey?"

"…And that's the passcode spot on yet again. I'll have this open in a jiffy."

After a few moments of the sounds of sliding bolts and turning latches, the door slides open.

"Good timing; Gaston and the kitchen crew are cooking up a storm right now, so you'll get to sample the results shortly."

The three of them make their way down the stairs; this time the air is heavily permeated with the smell of cooking.

"…why am I getting hungry all of a sudden? warriors like us aren't supposed to get hungry."

"You ended up tapping into your yoki during the fight Kammy; and one thing that will speed up your recovery after that is some good food."

"Really Rise? That's the first I've heard of that."

"That reminds me of something; I seem to remember a rumour that we're supposed to end up with increased appetites if we push ourselves close to our limits."

"Both are effectively true Lena. I don't know why the organisation doesn't make this common knowledge; but eating properly actually helps us to control our yoki; and aids recovery if we've had to tap into it during a battle."

"I'll bet Mai's gonna be ravenous then Rise. Maybe we should order big for a change then; I know I'm up for it, how about you two?"

"I must confess to feeling somewhat peckish myself Kammy, how's your appetite Rise?"

"I…"

Rise doesn't get chance to answer, as a deep growl from her stomach cuts into the conversation.

"I think that roughly translates as 'feed me Seymour!'"

The three of them make their way into the main hall of The Flag. The atmosphere amongst many of the patrons is clearly quite jovial, and significant number of them are noticeably inebriated. The stage is empty, but someone appears to be writing up a set list on a board next to it.

"So, what's our first port of call Lena?"

"We'd best meet up with Mai again first Rise; if we're going to be making any further plans she needs to be part of the discussion."

"Once we're all back together I reckon we ought to have a chat with Mickel; see if he can get us some armour sorted out. We shouldn't forget to give him the good news about how his weapons held up either; they survived the battle, and they definitely made the grade for use against Yoma."

"I take it you're gonna need to have a word with boss of this place again Rise?"

"Yeah Kammy; I know Saul will have given her a rough update, but I think it'd be best to make sure she's got the full picture of what happened from our perspective."

"Sounds to me like you're quite familiar with this boss Rise."

"I reckon you'll get to meet her in the not so distant future Lena. Not sure if I mentioned it before; but her full name's Leona Vangis."

The three of them make their way over to the bar.

"Heya Manny; how's Mai doing?"

"She's up and about now; not sure exactly where she is though. The last I heard Katrina wanted to give her a medical examination to be on the safe side, but she might be done by now; in which case she'll probably be with Mickel."

"Cheers, good to hear she's recovering well."

"While you're here do want to put in an order for some food? Gaston's doing his bully bacon pot roast; and if my memory isn't failing me, it should be done pretty soon."

"That sounds like just the ticket! Shall we make that four orders with all the trimmings?"

"Can't argue with that Kammy."

Manny calls back to the kitchens.

"Hey Gaston! Another four orders of today's special; with every accompaniment."

"Gotcha Manny; do you want some drinks with that?"

"Sure; what's good right now?"

"I'd recommend the spiced apple punch Lena; it is slightly alcoholic, but it's just the ticket with pork or bacon."

"We'll have four of those as well then please."

"Aye, there's a table for four at the forge end of the hall; is that okay?"

"That'll be perfect Manny."

"I'll get it reserved for you."

The three of them head towards the forge end of the hall to look for Mai. They find her attentively watching Mickel working on some kind of mechanism consisting of cogs, springs and cables; although rather than her uniform she's now wearing what appears to be a slightly oversized set of pink pyjamas, with a print consisting of various chibified monsters.

"…and that's the rough gist of the standard switch mechanism in a switch axe. There are some weird and wonderful models that are a bit different mind you, but this is sort system you'll see most of the time."

"Heya Mickel."

"Hi Rise; glad to see you're all safe and sound now."

Kammy stares intently at Mai for a moment.

"…some real cute nightclothes you've got there Mai."

"Katrina was kind enough to lend me one of her spares; they're a little bit big but they've got a drawstring waist so they won't fall off."

"I seem to remember your uniform got pretty badly shredded in the fight."

"Afraid so Lena; I've saved what's left of it, but I don't think its salvageable."

"Well, no need to worry about that now Mai; one of the things we plan to do while we're here is get outfitted with some proper armour. Besides, as it turned out none of the spare uniforms back at the lodge would've been in your size."

"Never mind the uniform, how're you holding up Mai?"

"Pretty good Rise; the bruising's settling quickly, and Katrina gave me a check over and confirmed all my joints are okay now. Physically I'll probably be recovered by tomorrow morning; but I don't think I'll be able to fully tap into my yoki for another couple of days though."

"I doubt that'll be an issue; no handlers have shown up yet, so we've yet be assigned any more work. I reckon they'll probably end up delaying even further while they figure out what to make of that Barioth anyway."

"Oh, and before we forget Mickel, those weapons of yours passed with flying colours."

"Nice to know I'm not getting rusty Kammy; it's been a while since I've had the chance to put together some heavy-duty stuff; and did my ears deceive me or did mention something about armour earlier?"

"Oh yes; in fact, we may need to collaborate with you, since we're going to need something that'll provide a good degree of protection, whilst still being passable as an organisation uniform."

Mai's eyes suddenly start to sparkle, and Mickel notices.

"Heh, looks like you're gonna get an in depth forging lesson; although I seem to remember your uniforms have got some fairly intricate details on the fabric, so I'll probably need a hand for that bit. I don't doubt you've noticed I'm a pretty big fellah, and while that's great for many of the rigours of forge work; it does mean fine embroidery can prove to be a wee bit fiddly."

"You got it Mickel!...uh, is that okay?"

"It's fine Mai; we won't let your enthusiasm go to waste."

"Thanks Lena."

"I'm guessing you put an order for some food with Manny a little earlier."

"Aye, that we did Mickel."

"Well you might want to head to a table; I reckon Gaston and the kitchen crew will be ready to serve any minute now, and that'll include my dinner."

"Cheers; Manny's booked us a table, so we'll catch you a little later."

The four of them make their way to their table.

"Let's see…Rise, party of four; yep, this is our table."

"The atmosphere seems a bit; how best to put it Rise; expectant, for some reason."

"Maybe this meal is some kind of special occasion Lena?"

"We'll find out in a few moments Kammy."

The sound of someone battering a pan with a ladle echoes throughout the hall for a few seconds.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! I have an important announcement to make!"

Everyone present turns their attention to the source of the voice, which turns out to be none other than Gaston, stood in the middle of the bar top. A small portion of the people present are clearly somewhat shocked by his appearance, while many others are clearly pleased to see him.

"Today has turned out to be a very important day; it does appear that true mission of The Flag can finally commence…"

A huge cheer goes up amongst a large group of people; all of who are notably heavily armed and armoured; and clearly in the know.

"…ah, it would seem that some of you here are somewhat perplexed as to the nature of what is unfolding. Well, no need for anxiety; doubtless your first question will be regarding the nature of my being; and to that I answer…I am Gaston; feyline cook extraordinaire, a friend to humans; and sworn enemy of hunger and mediocre food!..."

Another cheer fills the hall.

"…And as for your next question; we, the crew of The Flag; are in fact hunters, first and foremost; but the prey we trained ourselves to pursue is of a very particular nature. So particular in fact, that many amongst us were unsure this land held our quarry; but that uncertainty has come to an end today, for the centrepiece of today's feast is none other than a bulldrome pot roast!..."

Yet another huge cheer goes up.

"…And we have confirmed the presence of beasts of a far more formidable nature that also share the wilds of this land. So, with no shortage of pleasure I can announce, that once again…"

The entire crew of The Flag join in the speech.

"… **We. Are. Monster Hunters!"**

The atmosphere of The Flag positively ignites with merriment. After a minute or so of jubilation a chef quickly sticks their head around the kitchen door behind the bar and signals to Gaston.

"Ah, it is time people! Please; be seated, for the food is ready to be served…but with that, I suppose it's only appropriate I once again display the time-honoured slogan of the chefs of hunters."

Gaston punches one of the posts supporting the upper part of the bar; the shock causes the latch on a previously concealed hoarding to come lose, revealing its message; spelled out in large, red letters on a dark green background.

 **EAT! OR BE EATEN!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

* * *

"Well that was quite a revelation; I wonder how are the locals are taking it?"

"From what I can pick out Kammy; most of them are too stunned to react, and the rest just seem to be picking up on the atmosphere and getting into a partying mood."

"That's good to hear Lena; for a few moments there I was worried things were going to turn ugly."

"…So, aside from being really, really cute; just what exactly is Gaston?"

"He's a feyline Mai; so basically, a species of cat that's just as smart as a human."

"Makes sense Rise."

"You're taking this awfully well Kammy."

"Given that we hunt man eating eldritch abominations for a living Lena; do you really think a talking cat is gonna faze me? Besides, he isn't giving off any yoki, so I don't see any reason to perceive him as any kind of a threat."

"Fair point Kammy; and…well I have to confess I'm with Mai now that I take a closer look at him; I want to give him a hug."

"Heh, I guess he's the sort of guy who gets all the-."

"Oi, that's a shot too cheap even for you Kammy."

"Oh my, what are you thinking Rise? Someone really does need to get their mind out of the gutter."

"At least save it until the party's properly kicked off; crude humour tends to work better when observed through the bottom of a bottle."

A waiter arrives at their table and serves their food. The table creaks slightly once all the portions are in place.

"Thankyou! Now, that, is a lot of food."

"I'm pretty sure we can manage Lena."

"You gonna be okay Mai?...uh, are you drooling?"

"Oh, sorry!"

"Heh, you're starting a look a little bit feral there Mai; so, let's not delay any longer; bon appetite!"

The four of them get stuck in; all of them end up giving their entire attention to the meal, resulting in the conversations consisting of little more than "pass the apple sauce". Sometime later all four of them have clean plates.

"That…was…delicious…"

"Might've been a bit too greedy Rise; I'm not sure if I can move."

"I feel a hell of a lot better though Lena; how about the rest of you?"

"I have to admit Mai; that most definitely hit the spot. I reckon once this settles we'll all be feeling properly recharged."

"It's a shame we don't get to relax like this more often. I know our physiologies allow us to keep functioning without rest considerably better than normal humans; but times like this help me remember that regardless of how the organisation might think of us; we're not machines; and we're still human at heart."

"Couldn't have put it better myself Kammy."

"How pushed are we for time Rise?"

"Right now, we've got clear schedules Mai; we've heard nothing from any of the handlers."

"That's a pleasant surprise, I though Rubel would've shown up by now."

"As it turns out he's be reassigned; Undine's currently resting at the lodge, and she gave us an update when she arrived. We're not completely sure who we'll get instead, but Ermita's supposed to be the closest to Pieta right now."

"Ermita…he's normally assigned to Gallatea isn't he?"

"Yeah, have you met him before Mai?"

"I've never actually talked to him, but I've seen him a few times back at headquarters."

"…probably no coincidence Mai; your yoki's very unusual, so the chances are you'll have caught Gallatea's attention, since she's the current eye of the organisation."

"Is that good Lena?"

"Hmm, it's probably not a bad thing per se; much as Gallatea tends to operate alone now, I've worked alongside her in the past, and she seems to be a good person at heart. That was before either of us had made the single digits mind; but I doubt she'll have changed significantly since then."

"Well, let's hope time has made her more rather than less inclined to be an independent thinker. Should we encounter her; I think it might be best if we keep quiet about our dealings with The Flag."

"I don't think she'd be too concerned herself Rise."

"She's the third ranked warrior now though Lena; and as such I'll bet she's one of the most closely monitored of all of us. She might not have the luxury of turning a blind eye."

"I…suppose you're right."

"Look, I'm not casting aspersions on her character; frankly I don't know her well enough to make any kind of comment in that regard; but for the time being at least I think we'll need to play it somewhat safe."

"How well do you think they'll respond to our new uniforms then Rise?"

"I doubt they'll even notice Kammy; I've been wearing customised sets for years, and if anyone's had a problem with it, they certainly haven't informed me."

"Let's hope that continues to be the case; and now that I think about it…doesn't it seem odd that we aren't provided with any real effective armour by the organisation?"

"Interesting point Lena; one I've considered myself quite a few times over the years as well."

"Have you come to any conclusions Rise?"

"Yeah Lena, armour would be helpful for dealing with regular Yoma; especially if we were outnumbered; but even the best regular armour produced in this land can't withstand a direct attack from even the weaker awakened beings out there."

"So, why did you modify your uniform in the first place then Rise?"

"Notice that I used the terms regular armour and direct attack Kammy. My custom uniforms work rather differently to conventional armour; I'll save the details for later though, since I'll be having to discuss them with Mickel anyway."

"...I think Mickel's still eating, so we'll have to wait a bit longer."

"I thought a guy his size would demolish a plate of food in no time Mai."

"He's pacing himself Kammy; being stuffed to the gills would probably make forge work pretty uncomfortable."

"I guess we'll have to wait a bit longer then Rise…huh? It looks like they're doing something on the stage."

"I think they're finishing off that set list Mai."

"I've got to hand it to them, that band have got a really unique sound."

"That's probably in part due to those instruments Lena; I've never seen anything like them before."

"Oh? They're putting up another board; 'Hunts! Not Long Now…'."

"I'd better make sure they don't get ahead of themselves Kammy; we still need to confirm the areas of interest and make sure they're not going to send anyone into Yoma territory."

"Well, at least not without one of us with them Rise."

"…Perhaps more than one of us to be on the safe side. If we consider what we know about who the organisation has assigned jobs to in this area; we get a picture that strongly suggests some kind of major Yoma related activity is afoot."

"Hmm, I think I see what you're getting at Lena. While myself and Mai wouldn't be considered particularly significant on account of our low ranks; you and Kammy take up the seventh and twelfth ranks respectively. On top of that Undine's ranked eleventh, and she mentioned Gallatea has some work in this area as well, and she's all the way up at the third rank."

"That's a pretty major concentration of combat ability when you put it like that Rise; it could still be a coincidence though."

"Hopefully; I know Isely's set up a stronghold somewhere in the north, and if anyone could assemble an effective Yoma army, it would be him."

"Isley…wasn't he the number one of the first generation of warriors?"

"That he was Kammy; whilst today he's the first of the abyssal ones; and I suspect the strongest as well."

"A Yoma army; thankfully such a thing hasn't been seen to date. Yoma generally aren't particularly cooperative; it's rare they form groups much larger than the one we took down earlier."

"Look on the bright side Lena; if he has been trying to set a plan in motion, the appearance of these monsters ought to be causing him problems as well."

"We can certainly hope so Mai."

"Still, given how eager The Flag seems to be in getting down to some hunting, I think we should at least give them a rough outline of where we know there's been Yoma related trouble while we're here. That way we can least give them a heads up on a few places they need to steer clear of."

Kammy gets out her map.

"I guess the best way to start is to mark down where we've all recent jobs in this area…shit…has anyone got anything I can write with?"

"I'll get us something; I'll be back in a minute Kammy."

Mai leaves the table and heads off in the direction of the forge. A few moments later she returns with a fine stick of charcoal.

"It's a bit primitive, but it should do the trick."

"Thanks Mai; now, while I've been getting jobs around pieta I've had to deal with Yoma here, here, and here…"

The four of them outline the areas where they've taken down Yoma, and from these deduce both rough areas where an encounter could be fairly likely, and the speculated locations of Yoma lairs.

"That's odd; the outpost where we fought the Barioth's well outside of the main incident areas."

"Not just that Kammy; it's an awful lot closer to Pieta as well."

"Good point Mai. So, what does that mean?"

"If I had to hazard a guess Kammy, I think that awakened being was planning on using the outpost as a hideout from which he; and his cronies; could ambush people around, and possibly even inside Pieta itself."

"Heh, it wasn't gonna end well for him even if he hadn't ended up as monster chow mind you Rise."

"Indeed Kammy; we were already well on way to carve his sorry arse in half, and since there hadn't been any news of incidents within the city limits…hang on a minute, how the hell did the organisation know exactly where to find him before he'd had the chance to strike?"

"Gallatea; she'd have picked up his yoki from miles away Lena."

"Hmm…maybe we could ask her where she's detected yoki signals if we get to meet up with her?"

"That's a pretty decent idea Mai; and now that you've mentioned it I think I might've figured out exactly why we haven't heard from any handlers yet, despite the fact that they'd be expecting a report from us."

"So, what'd you reckon Rise?"

"Gallatea can pick up any yoki signals from miles around; and not only that, she's generally able to accurately gauge the strength of the respective Yoma from them."

"By generally I take it you're referring to how some Yoma can mask their yoki to some extent."

"Well, not just that Kammy; warriors give off yoki signals as well, but those feel quite different to those of actual Yoma."

"Yeah, it's pretty hard to confuse the two…oh, now I get it; if she picked up the yoki of an aberrant monster I'll bet it'd confuse the hell out of her; that Barioth gave of a yoki signal that didn't feel anything like either a Yoma or another warrior."

"Ah, that would explain why Ermita isn't his usual punctual self then; I'll bet he's probably figuring out what the hell to do now that Gallatea's doubtless informed him there's now a mystery element that possesses yoki out there."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Katrina's lab…

Katrina inspects a jar of red liquid, presumably blood, labelled 'Mai'. She uses a syringe to withdraw some, and places droplets on a number of glass slides, before reacting them with a variety of chemicals and observing the results under some kind of elaborate magnifying apparatus.

"…Well shit…what in the name of unholy fuck did they do to you Mai? I knew the organisation was up to some pretty dark shenanigans, but if these results are correct then…I need to have a word with Rise."

Katrina rushes out of the lab and makes her way up to the main hall.

"Hey Katrina, good to see you…whoa! What's the matter? You look proper spooked."

"I think I might've made a seriously creepy discovery Manny; is Rise still about?"

"Yeah, she's over there with Kammy, Lena and Mai."

"Thanks; oh, and could I get a blood sample off you?"

"Um, yeah; should I be expecting trouble?"

"…Not immediately, but…look, could you find Saul and Leona? If they could give me a blood sample each as well it would help."

"I'm on it..."

Manny sticks his head around the corner of one of the doors behind the and loudly shouts.

"Hey! Boss! Katrina's in full science mode and needs our help…"

Meanwhile Katrina makes her way over to Kammy, Lena, Mai and Rise.

"Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt you but…I know this is going to sound a bit crazy, but please could the four of you come down to my lab?"

"Sorry, but who are you?"

"Oh, I guess this the first time I've met all of you…"

"Heya Katrina; well, you already know me and Mai so; Kammy, Lena, this is Katrina; Katrina, meet Kammy and Lena."

"Well, you seem pretty interesting; care to explain what's going on, and why you seem to be so flustered?"

"It's…not going to be very easy to explain Kammy, to be honest with you…but, Mai, you know that check-up I gave you earlier?"

"Huh, you seemed pretty happy about it at the time; what's the matter?"

"Well, I ran a few extra tests on your blood sample to be on the safe side…and…well…"

"I think I can see where this is going; you couldn't make head nor tail of the sample results, and you want to take samples from the rest of us to see if something's up."

"That; sums up most of it Rise."

"Well, a blood sample's no great hassle; and to be fair you already seem like a better doctor than those quacks back at HQ."

"So, you're okay with this Kammy?"

"Can't see it being a problem Lena; besides, since when have any of those bastards shown anything even resembling concern for our well-being?"

"You make a good point Kammy; and if there's reason to be concerned for Mai's health then in all fairness I feel we should go along with this."

"Phew…that's a relief."

"Any chance of explaining just what's going on then, Katrina?"

"I'll tell when we're in the lab. If the wrong person overhears we could have trouble."

Katrina and the four warriors make their way to the lab. When they get there Leona, Manny and Saul are already present, and Manny's in the finishing stages of taking blood samples.

"Thanks, sorry to spring this on all of you."

Katrina grabs a spare syringe from wall rack and quickly takes a sample of her own blood.

"Okay, I think I might've discovered something in Mai's bloodstream that really shouldn't be there; but to be on the safe side I'm going to need to run comparisons with blood from the rest of us. The samples from Kammy, Lena and Rise will be used for direct comparison, with the rest acting as control samples."

"I'm pretty sure all of us warriors of the organisation are gonna have pretty weird blood samples Katrina..."

"Weird and unknown is one thing Kammy, but what I think I found…look, I need to be certain before I make any conclusions."

"Okay, I get the picture."

Katrina takes blood samples from the remaining warriors. Once all the samples have been assembled she seems to transform into a small whirlwind of activity, and it doesn't take her long to get through the tests.

"Huff…huff…okay…I'm done."

Saul quickly pulls up chair for Katrina.

"Careful, you look like you're gonna pass out. So, what exactly is it that's got you in a tizzy then?"

"Right…okay, I cross matched all the samples with each other in order to test for particular markers and chemicals consistent with human racial groups and…err…don't take this the wrong way…monsters and yoma."

"No offence taken; so, what did you find then?"

"Thanks for being understanding Lena; well, your sample was fairly straightforward. I saw most of the expected human markers, and a few somewhat unexpected; you're of Wyverian decent, so I guess we share a distant ancestor since I'm Wyverian."

"I guess that explains why I ended up with pointed ears."

"In terms of the non-human markers, most of what I found coincided with what I believe to be standard yoma results, although some unknown exotic materials showed up; which I think can be accounted for due to the yoma tissue infusion reacting slightly differently to Wyverian blood."

"So far so good, what about me then?"

"In your case Kammy I was able to positively identify everything in the sample; all of your human markers are standard, and the yoma portion contained nothing particularly unusual; although one interesting difference is the composition of your blood suggests a somewhat lower prevalence of yoma tissues compared to Lena."

"That's not terribly surprising."

"Now, onto your result Rise…"

"I think I should point out I was an early experimental warrior, so the results might be a bit weird."

"Yeah, that's putting it lightly. While about three quarters of the sample has roughly the same sort of markers as Kammy's; the rest…well…it's unknown."

"Heh, that's probably for the best."

Mai notices a faint look of distress on Rise's face and gives her a hug, before turning to address Katrina.

"So, was there anything odd about my blood then?"

"…Yes. I was able to positively identify the expected human markers, along with some Wyverian markers as well…but…most of the yoma markers are absent."

"Huh? That doesn't make any sense! I would've thought with my yoki…"

"Hold on, I hadn't finished. While the yoma content of your blood is much lower than that of your fellow warriors…the human content's lower as well, and the rest…is elder dragon blood."

Saul and Manny are clearly stunned by this news, but Leona keeps a straight face before interrupting.

"What sort of elder dragon? Could you determine-"

"Dire Miralis."

Mai starts to look very nervous.

"Uh? What's going on? Could someone tell me…"

"Sorry Mai. I didn't mean to upset you; and don't worry, nobody here is gonna think ill of you because of what we've found…"

Leona glares at the still stunned Manny and Saul.

" **Isn't that right gentlemen?"**

"Uh; yes boss!"

"Thank you."

"So, would you mind explaining what the hell is going on Leona?"

"Let's just say Mai's inadvertently uncovered a solid lead on a serious crime that took place in my homeland Rise; and given us probable leads on a few more."

"Before you go into detail Leona; please could tell me exactly what this Dire Miralis creature is? I couldn't help but notice you all react to that."

"Fair enough Mai. Dire Miralis is an elder dragon; and one of the most powerful at that. To date there's only been a single successful hunt of one; and it could hardly be called a hunt. A Dire Miralis attacked the port of Tanzia, and through the combined efforts of nearly a hundred hunters, a merchant ship, and the entirety of the weapon resources of the port it was brought down; but not without causing catastrophic damage to the port, all ships harboured there, and considerable casualties amongst the hunters themselves."

Saul pats Mai on the head.

"Sorry if me and Manny looked a bit freaked; we got caught up in the incident. I'm proud to say we both managed to do more than our fair of damage in the battle, but we both took a pretty severe beating."

"Well, to put it bluntly, a Dire Miralis is a colossal creature; stood upright it would be taller than even the tallest buildings in this land. After it was brought down we made use of the materials from its body to rebuild the port; it's carapace and bones were turned into buildings, and its blood was used to fire the forges. Unfortunately, at some point during the reconstruction its heart was stolen; and whoever took it had no qualms with murdering the guards in the process. No trace of the heart had been found since the incident until today; your blood results pretty much confirm that a piece of the heart of a Dire Miralis has become part of your body."

"Um, what does it mean for me then?"

"To be frank Mai, we don't know; nobodies ever seen anything like this before."

Rise reassuring places her hand on Mai's shoulder.

"I don't think you've got anything to worry about Mai; even when you've gone all out I've been able to tell your yoki hasn't been in any danger of going out of control."

Saul procures Katrina's monster encyclopaedia and quickly finds the chapter covering Dire Miralis, before passing the book to Mai.

"Here, this might be able to answer a few questions for you."

"Actually, can we borrow this? The Barioth gave us a few nasty surprises, so if there's any way we can be better prepared for our next monster encounter we'd like to know."

"Yeah, that's fine Mai; I keep a couple of spares to be on safe side since; well, quite a few of the bottles around the lab contain liquids that aren't very kind to anything you spill them on."

Mai quickly reads through the somewhat sparse information regarding Dire Miralis while everyone else continues the discussion.

"So then Leona, what are you going to do now?"

"Other than report my findings to the hunters guild there isn't much I can do at the moment. Investigating the organisation directly is pretty much out; the possibility of them having a hand in the original crime is nigh on zero, so the only things I'd really be looking for would be exactly who supplied them with the heart, and how much of it is in their possession."

"Why is latter important?"

"From what we've been able to ascertain from our studies of the tissues of Dire Miralis, the heart has an extremely powerful regenerative function. It was, for all intents and purposes, still alive after it had been removed from the rest of the body; and we suspect under the right conditions the rest of the body could regrow from it."

"Ah; that could have some really quite nasty consequences. Do you think the organisation knows about-."

Mai interrupts.

"I don't think the organisation has it. If the rest of the heart was there we'd have probably felt something akin to a yoki signature from it."

"What makes you think that Mai?"

"Katrina's pretty much shown my body contains only trace amounts of yoma flesh, yet I've got some of the most immense yoki reserves ever seen in a warrior. This shouldn't make any sense, but, if we consider that we now know, yoma flesh can bond with both humans and monsters; so, I think what's happened in my case is that the yoma flesh acts a bridge, allowing me to tap into the power held in the heart fragment. That would also explain why my yoki signature has always seemed strange to everyone else."

"Hey, I think that also explains why your yoki still feels stable when you should be pushing yourself past your limit; there just isn't enough yoma tissue to allow you to awaken."

"While that might be the case Lena; I still highly doubt going all out is a risk-free process. The body of a warrior does have clear limits, and since Mai's showed no signs of advanced regenerative traits; the dangers posed by going past her limits won't be awakening, but burning out her central nervous system."

"What makes you think that Rise?"

"When you said your body was tingling all over after you nailed the Barioth Mai; that's the sort of sensation you can get if you sustain damage to a nerve pathway."

"It's never taken any more than a couple of days to recover though."

"…You seem to be forgetting that when it comes to injuries, the margin between something we can recover fully from, and something that's outright fatal is really quite narrow for us Mai."

"Fair point Lena; I'll be more careful in future."

"Oh, and when it comes to dealing with the organisation's management, it's probably gonna be best for all of us if you feign ignorance."

"Just what I was thinking Saul."

"Incidentally Rise, you wouldn't mind telling me about what happened when you took out that Barioth? Saul's given me the rough gist of the end of fight, but he only caught the closing stages."

"No problems Leona…"

Rise fishes a set of notes out of clothes which she hands to Lena.

"…you'll find most of the details of how I put my custom uniforms together on these. I'll bet Mickel's finished his dinner by now, so you might as well get started on the armour while I chat with Leona."

"Sounds good; if we need anything clarified we'll give you a shout."

"I wouldn't worry; Mickel'll probably figure out some improvements on his own; and I probably won't be long here."

* * *

Meanwhile, about twenty or so miles south of Pieta, on the main highway…

Gallatea and Ermita arrive at what appears to have been a pub. The buildings now half destroyed, with one whole side completely demolished; along with much of the interior having been reduced to sawdust and gravel. Numerous large patches of blood spatter are visible here and there, and on closer inspection body parts can be identified amongst the rubble.

"Hmm…any thoughts Gallatea?"

"Were in not for the lack of any fire damage, my first assumption would've been that this is the aftermath of a moonshining accident; and given that material from the wrecked parts of the structure is inside the shell of the building rather than scattered around, I do believe whatever force caused this came from outside rather than within."

Ermita inspects some of the body parts; he picks out a piece flesh with a distinctive purple hue to it.

"You mentioned the yoki trace vanished about an hour ago; so, what do you make of this?"

"Well, that's yoma flesh alright; and since the yoki signature went cold, we can safely assume it's deceased. We could try to find more bits of it if you want, but I don't think there was anything particularly special about it, so I don't think it'd serve any useful purpose."

Ermita examines more of carnage.

"Interesting; whatever happened here not only severely damaged the building, but also appears to have explosively eviscerated everyone inside. Just take a look up there."

Ermita points to the ceiling; part of a severed leg is embedded in the planks.

"I'm not sure how many people were in here, but for all the blood splatter, there's not much to speak of by the way of solid remains; and the lack of any kind of yoki spike completely rules out this being the work of another yoma. I don't think the one I detected had anything to do with the actual incident here either; it was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"…most perplexing; the lack of remains suggest they've been consumed, but it's only been about an hour, and that's not sufficient time for the scavengers to move in. Now that I think about it I didn't notice any animal life within a mile of here."

Gallatea notices something in the pub grounds and makes her way over to investigate.

"I think this might have something to do with that Ermita."

The two of the them examine the find; it's a huge, deep footprint in the soft earth.

"The shape would suggest this was made by something reptilian, but the size and depression indicate something far larger and heavier than any known reptile; or any creature other than perhaps an awakened being for that matter."

"If it was an awakened being I'd have been able to detect it; whatever made this didn't possess any yoki. I suspect headquarters will be interested to hear about this."

"Perhaps we should investigate further before reporting; I have heard rumours of strange goings on in this area have been propagating for at least the past year. If we head to Pieta we could perhaps uncover information capable of shedding a little more light on this mystery.


End file.
